


You Make My Heart A Better Place

by lil_sis24



Series: A Legacy Of Memories [2]
Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: Adoption, Angst, F/F, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hicsqueak, Mentor!Hecate, family love, happy endings, mum!Hecate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27475720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_sis24/pseuds/lil_sis24
Summary: Mildred is still grieving, but her days are getting brighter - even though there's still a lot of guilt in the aftermath of Mildred's loss, she learns how to love a family that came to her when she least expected it and she felt she didn't deserve.Follow her and her new-found family on their path as they grow closer each day and how they handle every day life, all the ups and downs family life can bring."Cold Hands, Warm Hearts" should be read before starting this or most things won't make sense...
Relationships: Hardbroom & Mildred Hubble, Hardbroom/Pentangle (Worst Witch), Hecate Hardbroom/Pippa Pentangle, Mildred Hubble & Pentangle
Series: A Legacy Of Memories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007589
Comments: 59
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to "Cold Hands, Warm Hearts" - by the popular demand of one (1) person, so this is mostly for you, Dani, but I also couldn't leave them alone just yet. :D  
> (there were more people asking about a sequel, but my friend Dani was rather persistent - in the best way possible though!)  
> I'm still in the process of finishing it but I have eight chapters written so far and with the help of my lovely beta readers (roguebeachcomber and Ariel - you are both very very appreciated <3 !) I will post updates weekly, possibly. Depending on energy levels and time, honestly. 
> 
> Without further ado - here's chapter one. Please leave a review :3 that would be greatly appreciated! And now: Enjoy!

Mildred was spending the summer holiday at the cottage with her newly adoptive mother and Pippa. Of course, it went by in a blur, much to her dismay.  
They ended up staying for two weeks at Pippa’s cottage - which they would all later refer to as “home” - before Hecate and Mildred went back to the familiar halls of Cackle’s. 

They had been told in the first letter that, while the adoption had been approved, they still needed to appear in front of the Magic Council’s Family Court.  
For that purpose, they had received a second letter with an invitation and a date to appear and pick up the paperwork containing the adoption certificate. It was set for a Wednesday morning, one and a half weeks from now.  
Mildred had until then to decide which last name she wanted to have, whether she wanted to keep hers, or take on Hecate’s. She had not made a decision yet - not officially, at any rate.

That first evening back at the castle, Hecate and Mildred looked for a space on one of the walls in their living chambers for the drawing Mildred had gifted her that first morning at the cottage. They finally agreed on a spot where it would be visible from where Hecate would sit at her desk and also from the big armchairs they had in front of the fireplace.  
Now Mildred smiled every time she would sit there and look up at it. 

That first morning seemed so long ago now, even though it had only been two weeks, but she treasured every single day from this summer, even the harder ones. She treasured the time spent with Hecate and Pippa together, as well as just the days with Hecate alone, that still lay before them.  
She still missed her mum a lot, but the guilt was a little easier to handle now. Just a little, but still. It was a start, she supposed.  
She would forever carry memories of her mum around with her, in her heart she’d stay alive. Of course, she wasn’t really dead but Mildred knew there was no coming back for her and she had realised her mum, before magic, would have wanted her to continue living a happy life.  
She didn’t think with magic, it was still _her_ mum. Magic had changed her, Hecate and Miss Cackle were very much right about that.

The latter came for tea and biscuits their first night back at Cackle’s Academy. Her gaze fell upon the drawing numerous times, Mildred noticed, but the headmistress never commented on it, just smiled at her in her usual warm way.  
The next morning, Miss Cackle left for the same conference Pippa was at, leaving the castle “in both your very capable hands”, she had said with a wink before flying off on her broomstick.

Thus, the castle was very quiet. Which Mildred found rather unsettling at first, but after the third day she grew used to it. All of the staff had gone either on holiday or home.  
Other than Miss Cackle being there that first day - she only checked in through mirror calls every other evening now - it was just Hecate and herself.  
And that, Mildred did not mind at all. She liked spending time alone with her, although she missed Pippa’s presence. And so did Hecate, even though she would never mention anything about missing her, of course.  
Mildred didn’t need verbal confirmation from her, though. She could feel and see how much Hecate missed Pippa.  
Her mentor’s mood got worse with every day that passed without seeing Pippa in person, despite the distraction Mildred tried to provide for her.  
They mirrored, of course, and sometimes Mildred was present for those calls, but she was very aware of the fact that they needed _alone time_ more than anything.

Four days had passed since the conference had started, it was a Thursday now, and Hecate missed Pippa so much, that this afternoon, after she snapped at Mildred, the young witch took matters into her own hands and while Hecate was busy in the evening, doing whatever she was doing - Mildred didn’t know or care in that moment what exactly that was - mirrored the blonde witch from the pupil’s mirror room with one of the tokens she had to mirror her friends.

“Mildred! So good to see you again. Is everything okay?” There was genuine affection and concern in her voice, and written all over her face. 

Enough so, that the concern shown to her after the harsh and cutting remark from Hecate made Mildred cry. It had been a while since Hecate had actually snapped at her, and it hit her harder than she had first thought.  
Wiping at her eyes with her hands, she shook her head. 

“Nothing is okay,” she said quietly, her voice already affected by her tears.

There was definite alarm on the blonde’s face now. 

“What happened? Tell me.”

Mildred drew in a shuddering breath.

“She misses you. She misses you so much, she yelled at me earlier for dropping a book. A _book_! Nothing happened to the book! But she… she just…” At this point Mildred couldn’t hold the sob in anymore. “She said I’m useless and to… basically, to get lost and then she transferred away…”

“Oh, Millie. She didn’t mean that…” Pippa looked at her, trying to convince her of the truth in her words. Because she _knew_ Hecate definitely did not mean that. “Honestly, she’s probably beating herself up about it right now.” 

There was sadness in her eyes, but a quiet resolve written all over her face. 

“I know,” Mildred whispered, “that’s the worst part. I know she didn’t mean it. I know she just misses you. Misses spending time with both of us. And it frustrates her that she can’t.”

“I miss you both, too,” Pippa said with a tired smile. “This conference is over in two days. Do you think you can stay strong until then?”

Mildred nodded. 

“Will you come for a visit?” Her voice sounded hopeful. She missed the blonde witch, too.

“I was going to suggest, I come for a visit, yes, but that we go back to our cottage for another two weeks?”  
_Our cottage_. Mildred’s heart warmed at those words.

“Do you think we can? Miss Cackle left the castle in Hecate’s hands for the time being…”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that. We’ll sort out the details when I’m there. Millie, keep it a surprise, alright? And don’t let her words get to you. You’re not useless. And I know for a fact she doesn’t want you to _get lost_ at all. She loves you. We both do.” 

“I wish I could have a hug right now,” Mildred whispered and looked teary eyed at the witch in the mirror. Pippa’s hugs were some of the best, right up there with Hecate’s hugs, even though those were still very rare and often a bit stiff and awkward in the first few seconds but Mildred cherished them all the same. 

“Imagine my arms around you, Millie, every time you feel anxious. And you’ll see. Two days will go by faster than you can say ‘Laughter Potion’,” she winked at the young witch and it at least brought a small smile out of her. 

“Now, go. It’s late. Get some sleep. I’m pretty sure Hecate is already wondering where you are.”

“I just don’t want her to be mad at me, Pippa…” 

Pippa saw her lower lip was trembling very slightly again. 

“Oh honey, no. She’s not mad at you. She’s mad at a lot of things, but not at you. Believe me, okay?” She waited for Mildred’s nod before she continued with more authority in her voice, “And now, off to bed, young lady.” 

“Good night, Pippa. I miss you.” There was a shy smile on the young witch’s face. 

“I miss you, too, sweetie. Good night and sweet dreams.” 

And with that, their mirror call ended and Pippa’s smiling face vanished from the surface.  
Mildred took a few more deep breaths before wiping her face again to get rid of the tear tracks, and getting up to go back to her bedroom. 

She walked slowly, knowing Hecate would probably be back by now, and, not feeling ready for another scolding, she entered her bedroom directly, instead of going through their shared living chambers, as had become her custom on any other day.  
Tabby was sitting on the foot of her bed and looked over to her when she entered. 

“Oh, Tabby…” she whispered and fell heavily down on her bed beside him, halfway lying down, sticking her face into his fur.  
He started purring gently and licked her forehead. 

She was talking quietly to him, when she heard the door that connected her and Hecate’s space, open with the tiniest squeak, and fell quiet. Her face stayed in Tabby’s fur. She wasn’t ready to look at Hecate and see the disappointment and anger again.  
When her bed dipped slightly under the weight of another person behind Mildred’s back, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t the hand on her shoulder and seconds later a warm body curling up against her.

“I am sorry, Mildred. I did not mean what I said…” was whispered against the back of her head. 

Wordlessly, Mildred accepted the apology by reaching up, grabbing the hand on her shoulder and pulling it around her.  
That’s how the young witch soon after fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Mildred woke up feeling warm and safe, although her eyes hurt from all the crying the night before. There was the weight of an arm still around her, but the warmth was in front of her now and no longer against her back.  
She snuggled closer to the warmth, and, knowing it was Hecate, kept her eyes closed.  
She had apologised last night, Mildred remembered, just before falling asleep. And Hecate had stayed with her all night. 

“Good morning, Mildred.”

Mildred blinked her eyes open slowly, turning her head up to look at the older witch. 

“Good morning,” she mumbled.

“Did… Did you sleep well?” Hecate asked quietly.

“I did,” she gave a small yawn. It _was_ still early. “Did you? On my bed?” 

On her _smaller-than-yours-bed_ , is what she was asking, indirectly. Hers was a single mattress and just wide enough for one person, usually. And while she still was smaller than a full grown adult, she had been growing recently.  
Wasn’t she too old to be sleeping beside her… mother figure, anyways? She wondered about that briefly but then pushed the thought out of her mind, when she heard Hecate quietly reply. 

“Yes, Mildred. I _am_ still sorry about last night… I need you to know that I did not mean it. I was... I feel a little… frustrated… and lost. And I am sorry I snapped at you. It-it was … wrong of me. I apologise.” 

She had stayed at Mildred’s side all night. The short apology last night had felt incomplete but Hecate had been unable to find more words, and she had been still beating herself up about her behaviour, full of guilt. 

She had been scared Mildred might have nightmares after such deplorable behaviour from her, so she had wanted to make sure. Even if that meant sleeping on a small bed with a mattress her body was not used to any more. She did not care about the crick in her neck or the ache in the small of her back and hips this morning, and felt she was rather deserving of the pain.  
Her heart skipped a beat or two at Mildred’s next words.

“I understand, Hecate. I do,” she snuggled back into her, “I knew you didn’t mean it. It hurt, but I understand.”

Hecate tugged the girl’s head underneath her chin and held her even closer. The admission of understanding but feeling hurt made her heart skip a few beats in a very unpleasant manner. 

“There is no excuse for my behaviour. I should not have taken my frustration out on you. It was a mistake. An unforgivable one.”

“I forgive you, though. Because I know why it happened. And it _is_ okay. It really is,” Mildred insisted. 

Hecate would never admit it out loud, but at those words, with a feeling of forgiveness washing through her, tears sprung into her eyes. 

“I do not know how you do this, Mildred. How you are so forgiving of others hurting you…” Hecate whispered, afraid to give her tears away. “I worry about your precious heart.”

Mildred had promised Pippa to keep her upcoming visit a surprise, but it was hard to not tell Hecate what she had been up to and why she was okay now. 

“I just believe there’s always something good in people.” She gave a small shrug. 

Without looking up, she knew Hecate was smiling ruefully, so she just had to say it again. She needed to bring her point across.

“There’s good in you, mum, a whole lot of it.”

The body beside her stiffened and Mildred realised it was only the second time since the adoption had been approved by letter that she had called her _mum_ out loud. She vowed to herself to do it as often as possible whenever they were in private.  
It would give both of them the feeling of belonging somewhere and being loved and accepted, Mildred was sure.  
Then a trembling hand cupped the back of her head. 

“You are _so precious_ , Mildred…” The whispered response still carried a certain degree of awe and Mildred had to smile. 

“I think I decided on what to do about my last name,” she changed the topic rather abruptly. 

Hecate’s body posture, even while lying down still, became even more rigid at that.

She knew Hecate was starting to get uncomfortable with the amount of talking about emotions they had been doing ever since they woke up, but she had made a decision and telling her now, in this moment, seemed the right thing to do.

There had been too many situations where she had had to deal with emotions in her life ever since she started taking care of Mildred, probably, and the young witch was more than aware of just how uncomfortable it must make her, how hard it was for Hecate to cope sometimes.  
She felt a little bad about it, felt a little like the whole situation had thrown Hecate into something she did not expect to happen, ever. Something she did not really want. 

It was hard to let go of the feelings Mildred had in regards to that. She still felt like a burden to Hecate, some days. Even though the older witch often tried to reassure her as best she could that she did not feel like that at all, and Mildred was grateful for it. 

“I’ll ask the Council to change my last name to Hardbroom on the certificate, if that’s okay with you,” she said quietly and looked up to gauge her reaction. “Mildred Hardbroom has a certain ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Hecate’s heart was beating fast, _too_ fast, almost. Hearing the words tumble out of the young witch’s mouth, words she never dreamed she ever wanted to hear but felt _so right_ to hear, was scary and wonderful at the same time.  
She swallowed down her emotions and held back her tears. 

“That would be acceptable.” Her voice sounded rough. 

Mildred smiled brightly up at her before hiding her face against her collarbone again. 

“Can we stay here for five more minutes, like this, and then make breakfast?”

“Like this” was code for “cuddling”, because Mildred knew, if she asked to cuddle it would certainly not go over as well as asking to just stay the way they were. She just wanted to keep hugging her newfound mother for a little bit longer, especially after what had transpired yesterday and knowing that, as soon as they got up, there would be no more hugs. 

Hecate still was a lot more uncomfortable with showing and receiving affection than most, even though between Pippa, who was a very tactile person, and Mildred, she had got to a point where it was easier for her to accept these things than a few months ago. It was a journey for all of them, and they were all willing travellers, but it certainly was hardest on Hecate, Mildred thought.

They had developed a routine now that they were back at Cackle’s, of making every meal from scratch, together. Her stomach rumbled quietly in hunger, but she ignored it for now.

At the cottage it had mostly been Pippa cooking and preparing foods, with Mildred and Hecate watching and helping. It wasn’t that Hecate didn’t know how to cook, though, Mildred was aware. It was just that Pippa wanted to do this for them, Hecate had told Mildred one morning after breakfast.  
The reason behind that was a mystery to Mildred, but she was watching and learning and sometimes was allowed to help with certain steps and was grateful for it. 

“Of course, Mildred,” finally came the soft reply. 

Mildred closed her eyes for five more minutes, soaking up the warmth and the feeling of _safety_ , while being wrapped in Hecate’s - her _mum’s_ arms. Breakfast could definitely wait for just a little while longer.

* * *

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Hecate was quieter than usual, but Mildred suspected she was still feeling out of sorts - of course because she missed Pippa, but she would certainly not mention that to her. She didn’t want to risk another harsh comment and then Hecate feeling guilty about it again.  
So she stayed in her room, with one of Hecate’s books, reading and taking notes for her summer homework.  
Just because she was being adopted by the deputy headmistress, did not mean she was getting out of the homework and summer projects they receive every summer holiday.

She could hear Hecate moving about in the living chambers, sometimes muttering to herself, making notes and browsing a new potions book Pippa had sent her from the conference. 

When Mildred’s stomach told her it was time for dinner, she decided to surprise Hecate and cook for her instead. Quietly she closed her book and her notebook and with a kiss to Tabby’s head, who had been keeping her company, she left towards the kitchen. 

Miss Tapioca, of course, wasn’t present and the kitchen was decidedly emptier without the sometimes scary and harsh witch. And she was certain that if she knew Mildred was puttering around in her domain, she would get mad. With a quiet chuckle she perused the contents of the pantry, unsure what to make.

In the end she decided on tomato salad with a cucumber and cheese sandwich for each of them. Cooking seemed too elaborate and she felt like something quickly finished.  
Once she had everything prepared and plates and bowls set, she put everything on a carrying tray and started the short journey up from the kitchen to the teacher’s floor.

When she reached the door to their chambers she was met with a slight problem. She’d have to set the tray down to open the door, or try to knock. But what if Hecate wasn’t in their living chambers anymore? She sighed. Setting it down seemed like a hassle… but there’d be no other way. 

With her inner musings about the slightly conflicting situation but having come to a solution, she carefully lowered the tray to the floor, opened the door and picked the tray up again, only jostling the contents slightly. She smiled proudly at herself for not spilling any of the contents.

“Hecate?” She called into the room. 

“Mildred?” 

Hecate walked out of Mildred’s bedroom. 

“I was just looking for you. I was wondering what you would like to eat, but I see you already took care of that?” There was a small appreciative smile on her lips, but her right eyebrow rose slightly as well.

“Yes… er… Surprise?” Mildred held the tray slightly higher and towards Hecate. 

“Come. Put it down on the coffee table” 

They ate mostly in silence, with Hecate asking only occasional questions about Mildred’s day, and how her homework was coming along.  
She promised to look over what she had done so far, except for the potions homework. 

“That would be entirely inappropriate.” 

Mildred thought helping with any of her homework would probably be inappropriate but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t just in potions that Hecate was well versed and knowledgeable in. She was the smartest witch, Mildred knew - Pippa, too, of course - and so she thought that any help she’d receive with her homework would be of advantage to her.  
Instead she’d ask Pippa to look over her potions homework. 

Mildred also knew that Hecate would never have her hand in inaccurate assignments but that she also expected her to do her own research and to do so correctly and diligently. 

It wasn’t like all she did was sit over books and study and do homework, though.  
Hecate gave her plenty of space to have fun and enjoy her summer holiday. Sometimes Hecate would join her and Mildred treasured those moments.  
Although Hecate was less enthusiastic than she had been at the cottage, she still tried. Especially after the incident just the other day, and Mildred guessed she still felt guilty. 

~tbc~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since my lovely beta readers got back to me today, I thought, why not update today? It hasn't been a week yet, but I just know I'll be crazy busy next week with the four exams I have coming up - being back in school is... an insteresting concept at my age lmao anyways. Chapter 3 might be a bit longer a wait but, I hope you won't mind.  
> So, wihtout further ado: Have a very fluffy chapter. Let me know what you think! :)

The next day - and the last one it would be just the two of them - Mildred asked Hecate to do something special with her.   
She had pondered about it over breakfast, not quite sure if it would be as fun for herself, but then she figured, Hecate would enjoy it and if she did, so would Mildred.   
If not simply for the fact that it would help Hecate take her mind off of things. For herself, as well, she thought.   
She was constantly distracted knowing she’d have to speak in front of the Council in just a few days time, but also by the fact that tonight, Pippa would be back and she _really_ needed to keep that to herself. 

It wasn’t that she was nervous, she was mostly looking forward to it. It would make her decision to become a “Hardbroom” final. It would make Hecate officially, legally, her _mum_ , and the three of them a family.

The thought of that brought her back to memories of her mum, Julie. She hadn’t dared to venture up to the tower yet, where her old room was, since they’d been back.   
Not that it would do any good. The room was sealed, the magic keeping anything and anyone from entering it. So she’d stand in front of a closed door.  
In fact, she hadn’t been up there in months. 

The first few weeks after it happened, she _had_ gone up there regularly. At first even daily, but then less and less until a whole month had passed without her going up the stairs to sit in front of the sealed door and contemplate her guilt.  
She didn’t want to think about it, and for that felt instantly bad. Julie was still her mum… and she knew she always would be. Hecate wasn’t a replacement, was _not_ even trying to be one, wasn’t trying to be _exactly like Julie_ at all. 

She was still Hecate Hardbroom, strict, but gentler with her when they were alone.   
Unaccustomed with showing and receiving affection, but willing to learn; learning every day.   
And so was Mildred. Willing to learn more control over her magic, willing to learn everything she could about the Witches’ Code and all the rules and regulations Hecate was so fond of. That’s why they worked so well together. 

Well, most of the time. There still was and probably always would be, frustration and annoyance with each other from time to time, but Mildred knew that, in the end, she still had her adoptive mother on her side.

Mind made up, she swallowed her last bite.

“Hecate? Can we go into the woods and collect potions ingredients together? I know you need to restock most of them before the next term starts and I would like to help you.” She looked over to the other witch, a hopeful look in her eyes.

Her mentor and teacher had a surprised look on her face.

“You want to do... _what_?”   
The over pronunciation of the ‘w’ and ‘h’ made Mildred grin. 

“Go and collect ingredients with you! It will be nice to get out of these rooms for a bit _and_ I’ll learn more about potions and the ingredients. Think of all the things you could teach me!” 

She knew she was being just a tad cheeky, but she was just as aware that asking to be taught about something that was _that important_ to Hecate, she wouldn’t refuse. Couldn’t, really. It was the perfect bait to get her to agree.

“Well, then. Get dressed appropriately and meet me at the gate in fifteen minutes.” She raised her eyebrows at her. “Be. Punctual.”   
And with a curl of her hand, she vanished, taking the leftovers and dishes from their breakfast with her. 

Mildred grinned even wider, if that was at all possible at this point - not that anyone was still around to see it. 

“Yes!”

* * *

The hours passed by very quickly for the two as they were walking around the forest, on and off paths, collecting anything they could find while Hecate told Mildred everything she knew about the different kinds of plants or insects they had to collect.   
Mildred, knowing it would impress Hecate a bit but also knowing she would never be able to remember all the little details Hecate was bestowing upon her, had brought a notebook and pen and scribbled down every bit of information beside little drawings she made swiftly.   
Hecate didn’t say anything, but the proud smile on her face was just as rewarding to Mildred. 

They forgot to bring lunch with them, so went back to the castle for a short break, as well as leaving the already collected items in the potions lab.   
But after their lunch, they went right back to where they had stopped earlier, with Hecate transferring them.   
Mildred couldn’t quite believe how much she was enjoying this. The last time she had gone to collect ingredients had been with her friends and that ended entirely in disaster.   
She much preferred this Hecate to the gloomy one she had seen the last few days - and of course her presence over Ethel’s at any rate. 

Once Hecate had deemed their collection a success - for what could be collected during the day anyways - and they had returned to the castle again, they had gone straight to the potions lab. There, they started to sort the ingredients to go in their rightful places. 

It was getting dark outside now, and Mildred grew nervous. When would Pippa arrive?   
She desperately wanted it to be a pleasant surprise for Hecate, and wanted today to not just have been enjoyable for her, but also end on the best note possible. 

“You are being very… quiet, Mildred,” Hecate remarked after a while. 

“Sorry, i'm just trying to concentrate. I don’t want to mess up,” she replied, trying to excuse her behaviour. 

She wasn’t sure if Hecate truly believed her, but she did try to focus on their task. Getting lost in thought would simply not do. If she started to get distracted, she _would_ mess up and they’d have to find more ingredients… Well. She didn’t want to cause any trouble for Hecate, especially not today, and have her be upset with her.   
Mildred smiled and reached for the next thing to be put away.

* * *

Once they were all done, they went back to their chambers. It was getting late and Mildred wondered if they should cook or wait for Pippa, but once they reached the door, she was just as surprised as Hecate, when it opened for them and one blonde witch stuck her head out. 

“There you are!” She grinned, wide and toothy, at the two of them. “I was wondering where you two had vanished to!” 

She opened the door wider and stepped out carefully, clasping her hands in front of her.   
Hecate was staring. Mildred was grinning at Pippa and then looked at her mentor, but Hecate was doing nothing but staring. She stood frozen, her face unreadable.   
Mildred shrugged and stepped towards Pippa for a hug. 

“I’m so happy you’re here,” she whispered and clung to the blonde witch. She felt her hug her back just as fiercely. 

Pippa didn’t let go of her, but one of her hands stretched out, reaching for Hecate with pleading eyes. 

_Come here, please, Hiccup_ , they seemed to say. 

And Hecate stepped forward without thinking about it, showing absolutely no hesitation, and right into Pippa’s arms that opened up around Mildred, to welcome her in as well. 

“Mildred sandwich,” Pippa whispered, a brilliant smile on her face.

The young witch in between the adult witches giggled at the remark and then reached up with one hand to curl it around Hecate’s arm. She wanted to feel connected to her, as well. 

They stood like that for a short while, soaking up the presence of each other, Mildred sandwiched between them, until she slipped out to give them their space. They needed a one-on-one hug, Mildred guessed, more so than they needed her in between them.  
She walked inside their living room to give them space and privacy. 

Once Mildred was gone and out of earshot, Hecate let her mask slip all the way, while she stepped impossibly closer, seeking comfort in her lover’s presence.   
Her face was a mix of anguish and relief.

“I- I missed you so much, P-Pipsqueak,” she whispered into Pippa’s neck. “I feel ridiculous. It has only been a week. Why… - I do not know why I missed you this much but I am _very_ glad you are here now, although it was not the plan. I-I was looking forward to mirroring you later tonight.”

“I could leave so you can mirror me later, if you prefer,” the blonde witch cheekily whispered in Hecate’s ear, lips brushing over skin, trying to lighten the mood.

She could feel the shiver running through the other witch’s form at even this very light contact of lips against skin.

“You will not,” Hecate brought out between clenched teeth, her body going rigid and her fingers clenching in the fabric of Pippa’s clothes.

“I was joking, Hiccup. I promise,” Pippa whispered and then held her tighter until she felt her relax again.

“I am sorry,” was whispered against her skin. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Pippa said, pulling back slightly to kiss her cheek. 

“I was rather… dreadful towards Mildred, I am afraid. We talked about it, but I… it was unnecessary and she should not forgive me so easily,” Hecate confessed, her voice still barely above a whisper and her eyes downcast.

“She actually - don’t get upset, please - she talked to me about it. She called me right after. But you know what she said? She doesn’t want _you_ to be mad at _her_. She knew you didn’t mean what you said. Do you know why I’m here?” Pippa looked at her intently, no.   
“Because I missed both of you, yes, and the conference is over. I had planned to come here right after, anyways. But you know what dear Mildred came to ask me that night? If I could come here so you would be happy again. She _loves_ you, Hecate. She sees you as a mother figure and loves you unconditionally for it.”

“She… She really does?”

“Yes, Hiccup. She really does.” Pippa smiled encouragingly at her.

Suddenly, Hecate’s hands were up and cupping her cheeks and the dark haired witch surged forward and kissed her. There was a certain feeling of desperation to it, at first, but then grew gentler, calmer, softer.   
Pippa sighed into the kiss and pulled her closer. “I missed you,” she mumbled into the kiss. 

Hecate made a small noise in the back of her throat in agreement. She had missed Pippa very much.  
Needing air, they interrupted their kiss, but leaned their foreheads against each other’s. 

“I am very glad you are here,” Hecate whispered a bit breathlessly.

* * *

It was later that same night, when Mildred had fallen asleep and Hecate had transferred her to her bed, tucked her in and made sure she was asleep, when Hecate sat back down beside Pippa. Even closer than while Mildred was with them.  
They shared a companionable silence until Hecate said, “She wants to take my last name.”

Pippa looked up from the book she had been perusing (the one she had sent ahead to Hecate) and at the other witch. 

“Oh?”, was all she said in response.

“You do not seem surprised,” Hecate said and her eyebrows rose toward her hairline. 

“No, I’m not. She adores you, and she craves that connection with a mother figure. Which is you. So, no. I’m really not surprised.” Pippa smiled at her.

Hecate seemed to think about what the other witch said for a few minutes, staring thoughtfully at her hands in her lap. 

“I was surprised. But at the same time, I was not. She loves her mother, but she also still feels very guilty about what happened. I can imagine she wants to not be reminded of what she sees as her _mistake_ every time someone calls her by her last name,” she finally said slowly.   
It reminded her a lot of herself, if she was being honest with herself. She had, after all, chosen to go by her middle name because of her very own mistake.

“I agree with you. Do you think it’s the right decision to make for her?” Pippa asked gently.

“If it is truly what she wants, then yes,” she looked up and over to Pippa. “I think it will give her the space and distance she needs to… to heal, and one day she might feel different again, about using her birth name.”

Pippa smiled at her and reached for her hand. 

“You’ll be a good mother to her, Hecate. And she’ll be a great daughter to you.” 

In a rather uncharacteristic move for the dark haired witch, she leaned sideways and rested her head against Pippa’s shoulder. 

“We will see,” she whispered, not entirely convinced yet, but Pippa knew she just needed time.

* * *

It felt like all Mildred did was blink once and suddenly the day of their court date was there.   
Hecate was visibly nervous at this point as well and Pippa was trying very hard to keep both of them calm, but it wasn’t an easy feat.   
Mildred, aware enough of the situation, admired her for her strength and made a mental note to tell her once all this was over. 

Hecate made sure Mildred’s robes and hat were sitting perfectly and accurately at least four times before Pippa intervened.   
The blonde witch explained to Mildred one last time what exactly she’d have to say when and addressed to whom, before they all got on their broomsticks.   
Pippa couldn’t go inside with them, but she assured them she’d be waiting right outside the building. 

“It’s just formality anyways. You two will be fine.” 

But Hecate’s hands were twitching by her side while she walked stiffly, back ramrod straight, towards the gate.   
Mildred tried to keep up with her without stumbling and falling over. She remembered this place from when Maud, Enid and she had gone after Miss Cackle to save their headmistress.   
She turned around one last time and waved to Pippa, before catching up with Hecate and grabbing her hand. 

A sharp intake of breath was the first reaction, and then a squeeze of her hand.  
She smiled up at her adoptive mother. And when she received a half smile back, she knew everything would be okay. It would.

* * *

It all went over so quickly, Mildred had trouble keeping up. 

When it was their turn to speak in front of the council, she was still clinging to Hecate’s hand, unwilling to let go, but Hecate wasn’t letting go either.   
They had walked in presenting a united front. 

Standing in front of the Great Wizard, Mildred was reminded once again of the time Maud, Enid and her had gone after Miss Cackle and defended her in her hearing. 

Only this time, there were other people sitting alongside him, since this was the Family Court, not the School Board. 

He had smiled at them and waved them forward.   
Mildred doesn’t remember much after that, other than her heart racing and the blood rushing through her ears so loudly, all she heard was very distant talking.   
Until she was asked about her last name. 

“Miss Hardbroom and I have talked it over, Your Greatness,” she started, glancing at Hecate briefly, before looking back at him. “I shall bear her last name and it shall be my greatest honour to be her daughter by name and in magic law.”   
She bowed, like Pippa had told her to, not looking up until the Great Wizard would speak again. 

“Then so it shall be, child.” 

There was a scribbling noise from a quill on parchment, which then appeared in front of Hecate, to grasp out of midair.   
With a slightly shaking hand, she reached up to do just that. 

“Congratulations, Miss Hardbroom. You and your daughter, Mildred Hardbroom, are now officially family.”

The council and he muttered a spell and the roll of paper in her hand glowed for a second. 

Then he smiled at them and Hecate was not quite sure it reached his eyes, but she did not care. She could feel Mildred’s hand in hers, their magic mingling where they touched now, due to the spell and their becoming a family.   
She vanished the roll of paper, which was the certificate officiating their bond, to the insides of her robes to keep it safe, before raising her hand to her forehead and bowing slightly. 

“Well met, and thank you, Your Greatness.” 

Mildred repeated the gesture and words with a slight tremor in her voice. Hecate looked down at her with another half smile on her face.   
Together they turned around and walked out of the chamber, out of the building, and towards where Pippa was waiting for them with their broomsticks. 

As soon as they stepped out of the doors, Pippa walked up to them, a bright smile on her face.

“How is the Hardbroom family feeling?” She asked in a teasing voice. 

And that was the moment Mildred came out of her trance-like state. Her heartbeat was still going too fast but now from excitement and no longer from nervousness, she couldn’t hold the bright smile back any longer.   
She looked up at Hecate and threw her arms around her. 

It was the first time Hecate realised that Mildred had grown, now easily reaching up to her chin. 

No longer freezing up at the slightest show of affection from Mildred - her _daughter_ , she corrected herself in her thoughts - but still feeling slightly awkward, she wrapped her arms around her in her usual manner, squeezing briefly before resting her hands on her shoulders and finally pushing her gently to arms length. 

“You did well, remembering all the right words,” she said quietly, pride shining in her eyes. 

Mildred smiled brightly at her. “You know, Hecate, _mum_ , can I just say that I think it’s totally bats how strong you are?”

“S-strong?” She stuttered, but before she could enquire about what Mildred meant exactly, the young witch turned towards Pippa. 

“You as well, Pippa. You both are so strong! Oh! Can we bake a cake together, when we’re home?” She asked excitedly, changing subjects rather quickly. 

Pippa exchanged a look with Hecate, both of them having trouble keeping up with the young witch.   
They had planned to go back to the cottage after their meeting with the Magic Council, their bags packed and sitting beside where all of their broomsticks were resting. 

“When we’re home?” Pippa asked, trying to make sense of the words and their meaning. 

“Yes, _home_ ,” she said in a tone of voice that sounded more like ‘do keep up, please’ than anything else.   
“I know it’ll be quite late by the time we arrive but. I thought if we baked it tonight we could eat it tomorrow!” Mildred placed her hands on her hips and looked at both adults inquiringly. 

Pippa smiled brightly and looked wide eyed at Hecate and then back at Mildred. 

“Of course, sweet darling. We can bake once we’re… _home_.” The word rang true in all their hearts. The cottage was home to them now, and they were a family.

~tbc~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many, many thank yous to my beta readers - @ariel_manto and @roguebeachcomber, for both their help - from the bottom of my heart!   
> Chapter four is being edited as we speak (by me, one last time and then on to my lovely beta readers) and I am also working on chapter nine, which will probably be the last chapter...   
> But without further ado:

The rest of the summer they did indeed spend at the cottage which they all had come to call home. Or, at least, they stayed up there until the last week of their holiday.   
Mildred kept mirroring her friends once a week - usually over the weekends.   
Enid never brought the topic of Mildred’s last name up again and she was grateful for that. 

The rest of the time was spent drawing, reading and learning even more things about being a witch.   
Pippa and Hecate both showed her different views and different kinds of magic. The blonde witch explained to her more about the modern magic she was teaching at her school, while Hecate taught her more about ancient magics that were rarely even practiced anymore. 

When Mildred asked her why she was learning about it if it wasn’t something people were using anymore, her adoptive mother’s face grew stoney. Pippa quickly explained that it was a basic knowledge and that all magic was, more or less, built on the ancient practices. Mildred then smiled a full smile and asked Hecate question after question about it, until she was smiling again, as well. If there was one thing she didn’t like these days, it was causing people to feel badly in any way. 

Hecate and Pippa also taught Mildred how to transfer herself. They both felt like it might come in handy during the coming term, and they’d be learning the spell this year anyway. 

During one of those days of magical studying, Hecate brought up that moment at the very beginning of their summer holiday, when Mildred had transferred memories and feelings through touch to Hecate. It wasn’t unusual in itself, but it was more heard of among blood relatives or magically bonded people. Hecate and Mildred were none of those things. They puzzled over it for a while, both Hecate and Pippa summoning books to research the topic more, but they never quite figured it out. 

Mildred of course left them alone as much as she could, though. She knew they needed _alone time_ just as much as time as a family with her. 

It was the last weekend before the term started back. Both Pippa and Hecate had to go back to their respective schools during the past week, so Hecate and Mildred found themselves back in the familiar halls of Cackle’s. 

The rest of the staff had arrived on different days throughout the week. Miss Bat and Mr. Rowan-Webb would not return, as they had retired after their wedding ceremony. Miss Drill would take over Chanting - due to her injury flaring up - much to her chagrin. And there was a new member of staff by the name of Mr Daisy.   
Hecate was very skeptical of him and his abilities, but would give him the benefit of the doubt, for now. They were still waiting on a supply witch who would take over for Miss Drill. Ada had informed Hecate that she wouldn’t be able to make it any earlier than the first day of term, something which the deputy headmistress was not impressed with at all.

Once everyone except the supply witch had arrived on school grounds, Miss Cackle held a staff meeting that Hecate brought Mildred along to - for the first few minutes only, of course. There they told them about the adoption and the name change and asked them not to mention it during classes or the term in general.   
Naturally, they all agreed. They would call Mildred by her first name only, to avoid drawing attention to the change in her last name and making things even harder for the young witch.

Miss Drill was skeptical at first. Not about the last name, but about the whole adoption situation in general. But Mildred kept staying close to Hecate’s side and she saw that whenever the pair exchanged looks, there was something in the deputy’s eyes that she had rarely seen there before. 

Right before Mildred left, the girl hugged Hecate tightly and to everyone’s surprise, although no one would ever dare mention a word about it, Hecate reciprocated in the embrace, if a bit stiffly. What threw Miss Drill, and even Ada, was the fact that she pressed a kiss to the girl's forehead. Then, Mildred pulled back, smiled brightly at her and, with a wave to her teachers, skipped out of the room.

Once the young witch had left, they discussed the finer details of the situation.   
They all agreed that Hecate would keep marking Mildred’s potion’s homework and exams, but that Miss Cackle would check it over after, to make sure there was no favouritism involved.That would be a precaution, just in case someone outside of the staff would get wind of the situation and try to make a bigger deal out of it than necessary - entirely Miss Cackle’s own words. Any end of year exams for Mildred would be overseen by Miss Cackle herself, as well. 

They concluded their meeting after discussing other matters, one of those being a magical race on their grounds that Miss Drill was sorely disappointed about being unable to train her own pupils for.

* * *

Now that Friday had come around, Pippa was visiting them once more, just for the weekend, before going back to Pentangle’s Sunday afternoon. 

They would only see each other every other weekend until the next holiday.   
Mildred thought, if the week during their summer holiday that Pippa and Hecate had been apart was anything to go by, the next few months wouldn’t be the easiest for the couple, or for Mildred. On the other hand, with the term starting and the castle full of pupils again, it might do just enough to distract Hecate during the week. Mildred would keep her fingers crossed, just in case.

That Sunday evening, after Pippa had left them - all of them had tried not to cry but for some reason they were all very emotional lately, even Hecate, as emotional as Hecate ever got - Mildred went to her room and grabbed a wrapped rectangular, flat parcel. 

Hecate was sitting in one of her armchairs, the uncomfortable ones with the straight backs, Mildred noticed. She knew that meant she was more or less punishing herself, and she also knew _why_ , although she thought Hecate shouldn’t. There was nothing she needed to punish herself for, not in Mildred’s eyes. But her adoptive mother’s mind worked in mysterious ways sometimes and Mildred had learned not to question her. Not all the time in any case. But this time? She definitely had to. 

She demonstratively sat down on the couch, in Hecate’s line of sight, but she was rather lost in thought and didn’t seem to notice her at first.   
Mildred almost called out to her, but then their eyes met and Hecate acknowledged her with one of her half smiles, her eyes sad.   
Mildred patted the cushion beside her and looked at her questioningly. 

With a sigh, Hecate got up and walked over to her slowly. 

“What do you have there, Mildred?” Her voice sounded tired and sad, and Mildred didn’t like it one bit. 

It had been an hour since they had waved Pippa goodbye from the front lawn, and Hecate hadn’t moved from the armchair since they had got back up to their rooms. 

“This… is for you.” 

She handed it over.   
Pippa had helped her wrap it Friday night, while Hecate had been busy with Miss Cackle doing some last minute thing. 

“For-for me? Whatever is the occasion?” Hecate sounded slightly confused. She wasn’t unwrapping it yet, so Mildred took her hand and guided it towards where the ribbon was holding it together. 

“Just open it, please?” She asked and looked up at her pleadingly. She gave her mum’s hand a nudge, when the older witch didn’t react right away.

“Fine… Fine!” Hecate couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. She pulled on one end of the ribbon to loosen it and then pushed it off to fold the paper away. 

She gasped. “Mildred…” 

It was a drawing, a sketch kept in black and white, of the two of them. Hecate’s arm was around Mildred’s shoulder, a book in the other. Her hair was flowing freely down her back. 

Hecate remembered that moment. They had been reading a book about potions one early morning, studying together, after a particularly bad night of even worse dreams. It had worked well as a distraction for Mildred. There was only one detail in that picture she never realised. She had thought Mildred had been reading along the whole time, but in the picture, she was looking up at her, facial expression serene, despite the tear tracks still on her face. And a small smile on her face. 

Hecate looked up and at Mildred. The girl was blushing slightly. 

“I have been working on this almost all summer…”, she said quietly, trailing off at the end. 

“It is wonderful, Mildred. Di-did you really… I-I thought, you were reading…, well, along with me,” Hecate wasn’t quite sure how to word what she was trying to ask. 

“I was, after I watched you read to me for a while. It was a book about potions but your voice was so gentle and I felt… safe, after my nightmare. With your arm around me and your voice… it was like an anchor to me,” she said and then her voice dropped to a whisper, “to be honest, it still is, mum.”

Hecate’s eyes grew wide in disbelief.   
Firstly, she was not sure if she would ever get used to hearing that word addressed to her, but she had to admit, she liked hearing it. At least coming from Mildred. Another thing she never would have thought to happen. But here they were.   
And then there was the fact that the young witch didn’t use it very often. Since the day the adoption had been finalised she had used it only a handful of times. It was usually when she felt vulnerable, Hecate realised, or in special moments like this one, right now, and it still threw her.  
But secondly, she would have never in her life thought she would ever be in a situation like the one right now, where someone - a child she had taught for years, but never treated the way she should have treated her - would tell her that _her voice, of all things_ was an anchor for said child.   
It made her heart race and her hands were now shaking slightly, but her voice, when she finally found the words, was steadfast.

“I always will be, Mildred. You are my daughter now. Nothing will change that.”

She smiled at her briefly, genuinely, before looking at her gift again. 

It was already framed. This time in a dark blue frame that looked dark enough to fit the rest of the decor in their chambers, but still was different from the black frames used on the few other pictures on the walls. It would stand out right beside the one Mildred had gifted her at the beginning of their summer holiday, which was exactly where she planned on putting this one. Right beside the other one, so she could see it either from her desk or from her armchairs.

With a lively movement of her hand, the frame disappeared from her hand and reappeared exactly where she wanted it. It fitted just as nicely as she had imagined it there.

“Thank you, Mildred,” she said quietly, still looking at the drawing. 

There was a small smile on her face, the young witch noticed, but her eyes were still showing a sadness that only had one cure. Two, perhaps, Mildred thought. Pippa being one thing, and time the other. 

They all needed to get used to their daily life, now that the term was about to start again. Not just Pippa and Hecate; Mildred would also have to get used to different circumstances again.

Mildred wasn’t all that worried about the next term - well, not about the school part of it. It would be her fourth year at Cackle’s academy and after the events of the year before she was only worried about Ethel not holding back anymore this year.   
The workload she’d be able to tackle. With the help of her … mum - she smiled at the thought - and Pippa, as well as her friends, she just knew, she was going to be okay.   
But Ethel Hallow was bound to try and put obstacles in her way. 

A small frown appeared on the young witch’s face. Hecate noticed, and was about to inquire about it when Mildred looked up at her and asked,   
“Do you think Ethel will be nicer to me this year?”

Hecate was slightly taken aback at the question.

“I know the two of you have this... rivalry of sorts, but last year she did leave you alone for the most part, did she not?” The dark haired witch looked at her adoptive daughter intently. 

“It’s not really a rivalry, mum. She just doesn’t seem to like me very much.” Mildred sounded sad.

Hecate, still a little thrown at the use of the word _mum_ , thought about it for a while. 

She had not really considered the situation between the two of them beyond her own classroom and the shenanigans they had got into during their first two years. Last year she had been rather preoccupied with her young charge and her new role in her life. Additionally, Miss Hallow had been very quiet and seemed to be holding back when it came to Mildred as she and everyone else believed Mildred had suffered a very traumatic loss.

Ethel Hallow seemed to be the one with the rivalry issue, which made sense, since she was the middle child and all she craved was the attention of her parents, to be shown _love_ from her parents. Exactly what Mildred had - or used to have. A loving mother. So it made sense she left her alone last year, Hecate thought, since for everyone else, Julie Hubble had died. 

But what would happen once the school was aware of the adoption?   
The Hallows actually might already be aware of the adoption, Hecate thought. The parents, at least, and they might have _just_ told their girls. 

If Ethel said anything, she would take her aside, Hecate promised herself. Not as a favouritism towards Mildred, but to quiet any kind of suspicions on the Hallows’ part. 

Then again, if they were aware, Mrs. Hallow surely would have already taken steps with the School Board, even if she no longer was a member, she still had the connections. So she must not be aware of it as of yet. She would no doubt claim that Hecate was unfit to teach her own daughter, and would certainly question her abilities to remain impartial during class. Which Hecate was more than capable of, of course, maybe even more so than necessary, or so Ada had told her. 

But Hecate Hardbroom was a strict teacher and she would remain one. She was only trying to protect the girls by not being too soft on them. Rules, after all, _were_ rules for a reason. She had said that once and still stood by it, would always stand by it.   
Of course, Ada and she had put preparations into place, just in case Mrs. Hallow was of the opinion something wasn’t right. 

She cleared her throat.   
“Well, Mildred, I believe she has been jealous of you.”

“Jealous? Of me? She is the best witch in our year. How can she be jealous of _me_?” Mildred’s eyes had gone wide. 

She no longer referred to herself as the worst witch, which Hecate was glad about. But she still seemed to think so very little of herself and her capabilities, it saddened Hecate.

“Not because of that. I believe she is very aware that her knowledge is… _has been_ superior. It is not so anymore. You have managed to catch up very nicely and you should be proud of that fact, Mildred. But what she was and still might be jealous of, is your connection with your mother. And I believe that is why she did not engage with you last year in her usual manner,” Hecate said and went quiet for a few seconds. “I do hope she will not give you any trouble about… me…” She said finally, but then trailed off again.

Mildred looked over to the two drawings, where they were proudly displayed for anyone to see that came inside the living chambers.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if she is being mean towards you about it…” Mildred said quietly and looked at Hecate again.

“Mean towards me?” Hecate blinked surprised. 

“I never really cared about what she said or thought about me. I just don’t want her to think badly about you… I’m afraid she might think you’ve been talked into it and that you’re stuck with me now, against your will, and that she’ll tell everyone that you hate me and didn’t have a choice-” 

“Mildred, stop.” Hecate interrupted her. She took hold of the younger witch’s hand and squeezed it lightly. 

“First of all, you know better, Mildred. You _know_ that none of the things you just mentioned are true. And you know that I do not care what anyone thinks of me,” Hecate squeezed her hand again, hoping it was reassuring to Mildred. “So we both do not worry or care about what they think about ourselves, but you worry what they think about me and I worry how they think about and might treat you.”

Mildred pondered that for a few seconds and then nodded. 

“So… what do we do if someone does find out?” She asks her teacher and mother, addressing both roles Hecate now held towards Mildred.

“I suppose we will have to… figure something out if it should happen. The staff knows not to say anything. So unless Miss Spellbody and Miss Nightshade say something, or one of the teachers slip up, no one should find out,” Hecate reasoned. “In case someone does, let us just agree to consult with each other before we act.” Hecate eyed her knowingly.

Mildred stuck her tongue out and then said with a grin, “Fine. I’ll _consult_ you first. But if anyone says anything bad about you… Don’t be surprised if you find me in detention.” The young witch frowned again.

Hecate gave a deep sigh. “I suppose I cannot talk you out of _defending my honour unnecessarily_ , can I?” 

A slight grin formed on Mildred’s face. “Nope. Certainly not.”

At that, a chuckle fell from Hecate’s lips but the witch was quiet again just as quickly. 

“Just... promise to not break The Witches’ Code, Mildred…” 

“Promise, mum. I won’t.” There was a glint in her eyes, but the use of “mum” once again distracted Hecate. 

She would never admit it out loud, but it made her heart soar to hear Mildred refer to her as mum. To actually call her by a title she wasn’t sure she truly deserved and make it sound so full of affection and love, too. She smiled one of her half smiles and squeezed Mildred’s hand once more. 

“I know how important the Code is for the witching community, but what matters most to me is that it’s important to you. So, no, I won’t break the Code, but I _will_ tell anyone off if they say something mean about you!” Mildred had a certain determination in her voice that Hecate dreaded and admired at the same time.

“I would not expect anything less from you,” she said and was surprised she said it out loud, but found it was very much true. 

Dear, brave Mildred always stood up for what she thought was right. And stood against what she thought wasn’t. Hecate did admire her for it, although she often worried about her, too, for the same reasons. 

There had been a time when she had not understood Mildred at all. She had been a mystery to her then, very much an irregularity in the regularity of her carefully constructed life at school. Mildred had brought chaos where Hecate had believed she did not want or need it in her life. Everything was different now, though. 

Of course, chaos was still something she did not appreciate all that much, preferring order and routine and the following of _rules_. But she had come to realise that the havoc and disorder that her Mildred and sometimes even Pippa brought into her life was not as bad as she had thought it might be. She had come to cherish the personalities of the two people that had brought change into her life. 

Mildred smiled at Hecate before grabbing her book from the table in front of her that she had left there this morning, and curled up on the sofa beside Hecate resting her head against Hecate’s shoulder. Hecate summoned a book for herself, carefully leaning back against the sofa. Since there was no one around to witness it, she smiled down at the head of dark brown hair, an unguarded look full of love on her face.

* * *

With the next morning came the start of the new term. Mildred was looking forward to seeing her friends again and was hoping it wouldn’t be too awkward now that they knew she was adopted by one of their teachers. 

She was dreading seeing Ethel again after the holidays. She just had a feeling that the ambitious girl would not leave her alone anymore. Mildred was hoping her feeling of dread was going to be proven wrong, that Ethel would still be, if not nice, then at least civil towards her and not try to one up her so much. 

Given that Mildred’s knowledge of everything witchy had improved and with that, her abilities in all their subjects, she was _sure_ Ethel would give her a hard time, though. With a deep sigh she got out of bed and dressed.Hecate was probably already waiting for her to go down to breakfast with the staff before the pupils started arriving. Tomorrow, the new first years would be arriving, which would be a whole other distraction for Hecate, Mildred was sure and a little thankful for. It would keep her from missing Pippa too much. 

_Pippa_. Mildred was hoping for some mirror time with the blonde this week, if not in the allotted time that the children could call their parents, then at least whenever Hecate would speak to her. Especially after the first few days, she just knew she would need some advice from the blonde witch. 

Walking into their shared living chambers, Tabby followed her with a quiet meow. She smiled at him when he ran past her and up to the window seat where Morgana was curled up.

Hecate was standing by her desk, her clipboard floating in front of her, pages flying up and being clipped to it. When she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes, she paused the movements of her fingers and looked up. 

“Good morning, Mildred. Did you sleep well?” She inquired with a raised eyebrow, but a faint smile. 

“Good morning,” Mildred said with a too-bright smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“You are… nervous,” Hecate observed, now both eyebrows up on her forehead.

“I-I guess, yeah…” Mildred admitted and looked down to the floor. 

“You have nothing to be anxious about. You are very well prepared for the term, your homework will receive great marks, and I believe Miss Spellbody and Miss Nightshade are looking forward to seeing you again,” Hecate tried to reassure her. “Or is it still about Ethel Hallow?”

“I’m just… unsure? I don’t want her to be mean towards us, I don’t want her to belittle our family.” Mildred looked miserable now and Hecate did not like it one bit.

Her wooden clipboard settled down on her desk with a clattering noise and she stepped forward until she came to stand directly in front of Mildred.Her heart was hurting for this young witch in front of her, and she did not know how to handle the situation. She tried to think of something Pippa would say in a situation such as this one. 

“Mildred… Just keep in mind that at the end of the day, you come back here, to our chambers, and we are still a family. You, me and Pippa. Ethel Hallow, even if her mother was working here, would not have that security. The… emotional support… Which, you know, I am not very good at that either, but… I dare say the difference between me and Ethel’s parents is… that I am t-trying. I am. And you… you know I am…” she trailed off, taking a deep breath. “You know I am trying my best to be more open. I do believe it will be… different now than it was during the summer, at least… at least outside of our chambers. But we talked about this before. No matter what Ethel Hallow may throw at you, you can handle it, Mildred Hardbroom.”

Mildred took a deep breath. Her heart had started beating faster at the mention of her new last name. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get used to it, but it felt better to hear her name accompanied by “Hardbroom” instead of “Hubble”. It made her feel less guilty, freer. At least for the moment. She knew there were still emotions she had to deal with in regards to her last name and Julie, her birth mother, but not right now. 

Right now, she suddenly felt stiff arms around her shoulders, drawing her towards the older witch’s body, holding her tightly. Her own arms came up, circling around her adoptive mother’s waist.

“I’ll try to remember that,” she whispered, tucking her head underneath Hecate’s chin, listening for her heartbeat. That always managed to calm her thoughts.

“Good,” was all Hecate said in response but it very much sounded like _”You better remember that!”_ , more so than anything else. Mildred grinned but then closed her eyes, relishing in the hug. Physical affection, instigated by Hecate herself, was still a rarity and very much something to cherish, in Mildred’s opinion.

After a few minutes had passed she pulled back, thankful that Hecate had let her stay in the embrace for as long as she needed to. 

“Let’s get some breakfast before you and Miss Cackle will be too busy to eat anything,” Mildred said and grabbed Hecate’s hand, pulling her towards the door.

An incredulous look fell upon her adoptive mother’s face.

“Since when do I… _walk_ anywhere?” She brought out between clenched teeth before curling her hand and transferring herself, along with Mildred, into the Great Hall for breakfast.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you lovely people!   
> My lovely betas got back to me over the weekend and I finally managed to finish editing tonight so, here is chapter four! Please enjoy and maybe leave a comment! :3 I'd truly appreciate it!

The first few weeks passed by rather quickly. Neither Mildred nor Hecate had a lot of time to think or breathe. 

Between assignments needing to be handed in - or marked in Hecate’s case - and getting reacquainted with classmates, their evenings were filled with working quietly side by side or short mirror calls with Pippa.   
Ethel had been silently sneering at Mildred, whenever she got something right, especially in their potions class, but otherwise had kept quiet so far. Mildred was grateful for that. 

Maud and Enid visited her sometimes, but usually they hung out in the library these days.   
Enid wasn’t all too happy about that, wanting to practice her running and sit outside rather than in the “stuffy library”, but Maud and Mildred often persuaded her to join the two of them. That’s how they ended up doing their homework mostly on time now.   
Enid one day had enough, though and said as much. 

“I don’t know, Millie, but you’ve changed,” she whispered hotly, almost accusingly. 

Mildred just stared at her, shock written all over her face. Maud, realising that Enid was about to explode, pulled both of them out of the library at once, away from prying ears and eyes. Ethel and Felicity had been sitting in the library, too, just a few tables away and had looked towards them at Enid’s whispering. 

When Enid was about to break away from Maud’s grip, the usually quiet witch hissed at her. “My room is the closest, we can talk there. Out here, you better be quiet, Enid Nightshade.” 

She narrowed her eyes at the other witch and without waiting for a reply, continued on, still pulling her and Mildred along by their hands. Once they were safely inside Maud’s bedroom, she let go of their hands. 

“Now. What’s on your mind, Enid?” She tried to ask as nicely as possible. 

“It’s just… We’re mostly stuck in the library these days! Studying! Doing homework!! That’s so. So… boring!! It’s not Millie.” She ran out of steam pretty quickly, though, thinking back to last year. 

“I changed? My mum is… _gone_ , Enid. I won’t ever see her again, won’t ever get to hug her again. I won’t ever hear her say _well done, Millie love_ or anything, for that matter, ever again.   
So I changed? Of course I changed. I grew up. Maybe too fast, but I had no choice. I’m glad I found a new family, I’m glad for both of your friendship, and your support last year meant _everything_ to me. But don’t accuse me of changing, when nothing in my life is how it used to be!” Mildred spat at her. 

She didn’t raise her voice, though, didn’t want to chance anyone passing by overhearing such a closely guarded secret. Enid didn’t say anything, she just stared at the floor, contemplating.   
Maud elbowed her in the side. 

“Don’t you think you’re being too hard on her?” She whispered to her friend. 

Enid just shrugged. Sure, Mildred was right. But did she have to like the fact that her best friend had changed into someone she wasn’t quite sure she recognised anymore? Surely not. 

“I just don’t recognise you anymore, Mildred. We used to have all kinds of fun-“ 

“Got into all kinds of mischief, you mean? And then barely getting out of it again?” Mildred interrupted, but there was a sad grin on her face. 

Enid sighed. “Yeah… I miss those times…” 

“I do, too,” Mildred admitted, “but I don’t think I can get back to that, Enid. I’m sorry if that means I’m disappointing you or that you don’t want to be friends anymore…” Especially since it had been those sort of shenanigans that had brought her to where she was now. Without her mum. Her getting into things without thinking them through was exactly what “fun” meant in Enid’s books. Only the last time didn’t end so well, and Enid didn’t quite know. 

There were tears in her eyes now, but she turned away, staring out of the window. She didn’t want either of them to see her cry. There was so much guilt in her heart and mind still, and she feared that if she got into any mischief again, it could end even worse. Although she wasn’t sure how there could be anything worse than what had already happened. Before either Enid or Maud could say anything, she curled her hand and transferred away, unable to deal with her emotions and Enid’s accusations anymore. 

She was aiming for her bedroom, and to be fair, she almost made it there. She ended up in their living chambers instead, where Hecate was sitting at her desk, Miss Drill and Miss Cackle in front of her. Each of them had tea and a biscuit in front of them. 

Mortified, Mildred’s eyes widened, remembering now that the three of them had an informal meeting tonight about another possible substitute teacher for Miss Drill, since their original one never showed. She was wondering why they held the meeting here, but hadn’t found the time to ask earlier. 

Now she couldn’t stop the tears from falling anymore. Hurriedly she turned on her heel, stumbling towards the door that led into her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it, crying silently. All she wanted was a hug from Hecate in this moment but she didn’t want to interrupt her meeting, hadn’t even meant to transfer herself to their living room. She took a deep, trembling breath, trying to stop the tears from falling. 

Enid was right, of course. She had changed. But for different reasons than her friend thought. Yes, she had lost her mum, had to grow up in a sense, but it was because she had made a mistake.   
A mistake Enid and Maud knew nothing about. And they never would, either. 

At this moment, Mildred wasn’t sure if she and Enid would be able to remain friends after all, as much as she wanted to. If Enid didn’t understand her even the tiniest bit, didn’t accept her how she was now, she wasn’t sure how their friendship was going to survive. A sob tore from her throat at that, her heart in so much pain at the thought, she didn’t know how to describe it. She didn’t want to lose her friend as well as her mum . She didn’t want to _keep losing people_.

Slowly letting herself sink to the floor, she buried her face in her knees, tears still flowing, but silently once more. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Enid’s voice, how accusing it had sounded. Mildred felt like her friend didn’t understand her much at all. It broke her heart even more. 

Suddenly a set of cool hands were on her shoulders, gently drawing her against a body that was all angles but still felt very much like _home_ and _safe_ , now.   
There was no rocking back and forth that Julie would have done, no shushing and loving whispers like from Pippa, just cool hands around her shoulders, and a steady heartbeat where her ear was pressed against the other witch’s body.   
Mildred breathed in with a shudder, but the tears slowed down, finally. 

“I-I think, Enid isn’t my friend anymore…” Mildred whispered and felt more tears sting her eyes as she said it out loud. 

She could feel Hecate freeze up for a few seconds. 

“Not because of you!” She hastily added, “No, not because of you, I wouldn’t say. But I think… she’s accusing me of ch-changing… of having changed, says she can’t recognise me anymore and, mum, I don’t know h-how to t-tell her that I can’t… I can’t go back t-to who I was because what if I mess up again?! What if I lose someone else? But now I’m losing h-her because she w-won’t understand and I-"   
A hiccup interrupted her and she fell quiet, trying to get her breathing under control again. 

Hecate was at a loss at what to say. She knew how it felt to lose a friend, but while their circumstances were similar in certain aspects, they were vastly different in others. She wanted to take the pain from Mildred, wanted her to not have to lose people in her life anymore. Especially not friends that simply _chose_ not to understand. She huffed quietly. 

“Her not understanding is not on you, Mildred,” she finally said quietly, speaking into her daughter’s hair tucked against her chest. “It is her own choosing and I know it hurts. I truly do. And I am sorry this is happening to you. But it is not your fault. She might not come around, but then it is her loss. You deserve better than that.”

Mildred clung to Hecate even more at her words, her heart hurting.

“She… Enid was… She was acting weird after I told her about the adoption. She was the only one that seemed… to have a problem with me even _considering_ to take your last name… I didn’t say anything because I just thought… I don’t know what I thought… It seems so long ago now…”

Mildred wiped at her tears, trying not to get stains on Hecate’s dress.

“You know I am here to talk about whatever is on your mind, whenever it is preoccupying you, right?” Hecate paused and waited for Mildred to confirm. Once the girl nodded, she continued. “That being said, you do not have to tell me anything you do not want to share. You told Miss Nightshade the weekend after we received the letter, correct?”

Mildred nodded again.

“She did not know much about your private life the past year, other than the fact that you had lost your mother, and that I was taking care of you. She did not know I was your guardian, or how we had become a… family, even before we were talking about adoption. And maybe her problem lies with… me, as well. I do not believe she trusts or likes me very much - as a teacher. Which, obviously, I do not care about,” she narrowed her eyes.   
“What I do care about, however, is her hurting you.” 

Mildred wasn’t sure what to say, but what Hecate was saying made sense. A lot of sense, actually.   
She didn’t think Enid was jealous, but she did really not care all that much for Miss Hardbroom. Or maybe she did, more than she was letting on, and _was_ jealous after all?   
The young witch shrugged. 

“I think, I’ll just avoid her for a bit,” she whispered. 

“Avoiding her will not solve the issue,” Hecate replied, raising an eyebrow at the young witch. 

“I know… But it will calm her down and give her time to think. And maybe that’s what we both need. Time to think,” Mildred said resolutely. 

The dark haired witch only inclined her head at that. She knew Mildred would do whatever she thought was right either way. She only feared that Mildred would get hurt, but knew at the same time, she could not keep her from experiencing that kind of pain, no matter how much she wished she could spare her. Hecate just hoped Mildred was right. That time was all both of them, Miss Nightshade and Mildred herself, needed.

* * *

The next few days Mildred avoided Enid as much as possible, but Enid seemed to avoid Mildred in return. Poor Maud didn’t know what to do, but tried to split her time between them as equally as she possibly could.   
It wasn’t that they were fighting, exactly, but there was hurt on both sides and Maud didn’t know how to help. 

She had gushed to Mildred about how amazing Enid’s running apparently was. The new substitute teacher - who had finally arrived - Miss Hempnettle, seemed to be of the same opinion and said as much just a few days later. 

Mildred, living with the deputy headmistress, was aware of a few things no one else was, though, as she heard Miss Drill complain to Hecate quite a few times.   
It surprised Mildred, that Miss Drill seemed to come to Hecate so much, as they didn’t seem to get along all that well, but it seemed that they had developed more of a mutual respect for each other than before and from that, had formed a friendship. Sort of.  
She had heard some things here and there, through the closed door.   
Miss Hempnettle seemed to be causing quite the rage in Miss Drill, making her speak a lot louder than she already did, and Mildred had heard a few choice words - which she’d never repeat to Hecate, ever - as well as snippets about a story from when the “star of the sky” had had her terrible accident. According to Miss Drill, their substitute teacher had caused it - had caused the accident, the injury and her losing the competition. 

From Maud, she kept hearing how much Enid seemed to take to Miss Hempnettle, though, and it worried her. She couldn’t help but feel like the new teacher was going to trick Enid, or worse, might cause her an injury, too. But she knew as well that, with the current state of their friendship, Enid would neither listen to her, nor believe her at all. She would probably accuse her of trying to sabotage her and she wasn’t sure if their friendship would survive that. She doubted it, if she was being honest. And she really was hoping to be able to fix it. Somehow. 

So Mildred wasn’t quite sure what to do. She thought about talking to Hecate about it, but then figured, maybe it would be better to talk to Pippa. She had confided in her about the whole situation during one of their mirror calls, so she wouldn’t have to explain all of it. So, yes, she should talk to Pippa. Pippa, who was going to visit them over the weekend - quietly, of course. No one was supposed to know. 

Mildred smiled, albeit a bit sadly. Yes, Pippa would definitely know what to do. Or at least be able to help her figure something out. She was due to arrive late Friday night, in two days, so just three more days until she’d actually see her again. Mildred was sure she’d not get to see her until Saturday morning for breakfast in their chambers.   
Hecate was missing the blonde witch terribly, despite all the usual chaos going on at Cackle’s, she was often rather distracted and Mildred had noticed. Of course only ever in the privacy of their own living chambers. Hecate was very professional outside of her own four walls. But in private? Even with Mildred present, she let her guard down - more now than ever before. 

Ever since the summer holiday and all that time spent up in Scotland, she was opening up more towards both of them, Pippa and Mildred, and the young witch had to admit that although it was a very different side to her teacher, mentor and now mother, she quite enjoyed seeing her opening up. It meant she trusted them. It meant she trusted someone other than herself and that in turn meant, she was less alone. 

Saturday couldn’t come soon enough for Mildred, though. And maybe she’d talk to both, Pippa and Hecate, about it, but she wasn’t quite sure yet.For now, she’d finish her homework assignments for tomorrow and then go and find Hecate. Maybe they could play a game of chess despite it not being a Sunday evening.   
They had been keeping their tradition from last term up, once school had started back. Sunday evenings always were for playing at least one game of chess. Sometimes even two.

* * *

The next day found Mildred sitting in the library by herself after classes were over. She was trying to find some arguments for the essay for spell science she had been working on the past few days, even though it wasn’t due until next week. She wanted to find at least a handful of points before dinner. Thinking back to how she would’ve left it until most likely the day before it had to be handed in, she grimaced and turned a page. 

Suddenly a shadow fell over her book.

“So, you’re still making all cosy with Miss Hardbroom… do you think she _really_ wants to put up with you any longer?” It was said with a whispered sneer but Mildred recognised the voice instantly. 

She took a deep breath and looked up. 

“Good afternoon to you, too, Ethel,” she said cooly, raised her eyebrow and pointedly looked back at the book in front of her, scribbling some notes in her notebook.

She could see out of the corner of her eye that Ethel’s hands clenched up. Presumably in anger.

“I don’t know what game you are playing at, Mildred, but I will find out. I already know you didn’t move back to your old room.” It wasn’t just a sneer now, her voice was definitely seething in anger. 

Mildred shrugged. There was no way she could move back to her old room, even if she wanted to. Which she didn’t, and couldn’t, but Ethel couldn’t and would never know that.

“Miss Cackle said, if Miss Hardbroom didn’t mind, I could stay where I am. It’s closer to the classrooms and will keep me on time,” she said quietly, looking up at her with a slight smirk on her face for just a second before looking back at the book. 

Of course Miss Cackle hadn’t said any such thing, but Ethel didn’t need to know the real reason at all. 

“So you’re sucking up to the headmistress, too, now? Have you got no shame, Mildred?!”Ethel’s voice was growing louder. “You don’t even know what the Witches’ Code says and-”

Mildred closed the book with a loud _thump_ , which worked well to interrupt the blonde witch. She calmly packed her notebook and pen into her bag, grabbed the book and stood up. 

“Oh, Ethel. You don’t know anything about me or Miss Hardbroom and Miss Cackle. Really, you have no clue at all, do you, about actual ethics _or_ the Witches’ Code? So, please, do everyone a favour and just be quiet for once.” 

She looked at Ethel intently, making sure the words registered with her and, before the blonde could retaliate, she raised her hand and, much like Hecate, curled it inwards and vanished.

Ethel was left standing there, gaping, furious, her thoughts racing a mile a minute at the display of advanced magic.

* * *

Mildred had transferred right into her own bedroom. Successfully, this time. With a heavy sigh she dropped the book on her nightstand with a resounding noise and her bag at her feet with a loud clatter, before she let herself fall backwards onto her bed.

A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door connecting her room to the living room and Hecate pushed the door open fully. It had only been ajar, as usual. 

“Everything alright, Mildred?” The dark haired witch leaned against the doorframe, eyebrows raised in question. Her face was a careful mask. Mildred was never usually this careless with books or her things. At least she hadn’t been in quite some time and Hecate was aware of that. 

At the words, the girl craned her neck around and looked at Hecate. Mildred guessed she didn’t want to show her worry, which she really wasn’t succeeding at. 

The young witch shrugged defeatedly but gave a small smile. Who would’ve thought Miss Hardbroom would ever worry about her this much? She chuckled inwardly at that thought.

“I suppose? Ethel said some stuff in the library…” she trailed off and rolled her eyes. 

Hecate’s facial expression changed slightly at that. It went from barely masked worry to anger and then back to worry. Mildred chuckled out loud this time and sat up. The angle was getting too uncomfortable for her neck.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t break the Code…” 

Hecate gave a sharp nod and then walked over to where Mildred was sitting on her bed. 

“May I?” She asked and inclined her head towards the bed. 

The young witch nodded and once Hecate was sitting down, she recounted exactly what had happened in the library. About how Ethel had been sneering at her, and then sounded angry. What about, she wasn’t quite sure but Mildred was agreeing with Hecate now. 

“She is jealous, still. What for, is anyone’s guess now. The attention, certainly, from both, Miss Cackle and me, I suppose. And the fact that your marks are getting better and you are catching up with her is probably threatening her as well. I shall keep an eye on her and her… activities outside of class,” Hecate mused quietly while looking thoughtfully at Mildred. 

“Me transferring away probably didn’t do much good on top of all that…” Mildred said and trailed off, looking down at her hands. And that she had done so with Hecate’s _signature_ hand movement… she sighed, but kept that small detail to herself. 

“Your transference is getting better and I am proud of you, Mildred,” Hecate said with a knowing glint in her eyes. 

“For getting my transference spell right?” 

“Yes, but for how you handled Miss Hallow as well. Do not tell anyone I said that, but you do know more about ethics and the Witches’ Code than even our fifth years,” Hecate quietly remarked. 

“Everything I know about the Code is thanks to you, mum. You and Pippa, but mostly you,” Mildred said and leaned her head against the older witch’s shoulder. 

“But see? I didn’t break the Code at all!” Mildred grinned up at Hecate from where her head was still resting against her shoulder. 

Hecate looked down at her with raised eyebrows, but nodded her head. 

“I did not expect anything else from you,” she said haughtily. 

Mildred burst out laughing. 

“Never expected to hear that from you!” She brought out between her laughter. 

“As much as I never expected myself to ever say that in regards to you, Mildred…” was shot back drily. 

Mildred loved this side of Hecate. She rarely saw her that way while they were at school, never in presence of anyone other than Pippa at any rate, but where she did see this side of her adoptive mother was when they were at their cottage, or just by themselves. She cherished these moments. It was a sort of banter, a dry humour that was so very much like Hecate. Both Pippa and Mildred were able to hold their own whenever Hecate felt free and safe enough to show that side of herself. 

She giggled and threw her arms around Hecate’s middle. 

“Of course not. I’m still trouble, though, don’t forget that!” She said cheekily. 

Hecate gave a deep sigh. “Hmm… there is always… de-ten-tion…” she whispered and sounded rather seriously threatening, drawing the last word out as if it was the most delicious chocolate melting on her tongue. 

“I’ll make sure not to attract too much trouble, then,” Mildred slightly back-pedalled. She did promise Pippa to stay out of trouble as well, after all. 

“Hmm. Good,” was all Hecate replied, narrowing her eyes at her, but her arms came to rest around the girl’s shoulders at the same time, holding her to her own body in a protective manner.

“Again, though, you have dealt with Miss Hallow for now. She will probably retaliate. Especially because you transferred. She might bring that to the attention of Miss Cackle and myself,” Hecate said seriously once more, still keeping one arm around Mildred’s shoulders, but loosening her grip.

“Good thing you’re both aware of my ability, then…” Mildred bit her lip and looked pensive for a moment. “I did… uh… Ethel might think I’m just imitating your style or she might come to the right conclusion - that you taught me how to transfer…” Mildred trailed off.

Hecate just looked at her and Mildred sighed again.

“Well, you see, I might or might not have… used the same hand motion you do… when you transfer,” Mildred haltingly said, “but only because it’s so _extra_ and I _love_ it!” She hastened to add. 

The older woman continued to just look at her for a long few seconds, that felt like an eternity to Mildred, before finally reacting. Just not in the way the younger witch expected.  
Hecate Hardbroom smirked.

“It is a bit… _extra_ , is it not?” She asked and her voice was full of mirth. 

Mildred giggled and nodded. She realised in this moment, yet another aspect about Hecate Hardbroom was that she was of course very aware of her own characteristics but that she also seemed to _enjoy_ behaving a certain way sometimes. Which, if she was being honest, Mildred completely understood. There had been a certain rush of… something, earlier, when she had transferred away with the curl of her hand. 

Turning serious again, Hecate hummed quietly, bringing Mildred out of her musings. 

“We will just have to wait and see what Miss Hallow does next,” she said quietly. “I am glad you did not do anything… drastic, though.”

Mildred sighed and nodded against Hecate’s shoulder. 

“I just wish she would back off and leave me alone for once,” she whispered.

“I know, Mildred… At some point she might,” she said but thought back to her own past and how the others had never backed off, not even when Pippa told them off. “Or she might not. But you are never alone. You have Miss Spellbody, Pippa and me. And I am sure Miss Nightshade will come around soon, too. How is that situation going?”

“Maud says she’s taken to Miss Hempnettle quite a lot…” Mildred whispered, unsure how to voice her fears in regards to the substitute teacher they had for PE at the moment.

“Ah. I can tell you are worried,” she remarked.

“I mean, Miss Drill is not exactly… quiet about what happened. But I know that if I try to warn Enid, she’ll just react really badly. She’ll think I’m trying to sabotage her or something,” Mildred said. She pulled away and got up to start pacing, unable to sit still any longer while trying to deal with the agitation she felt at the situation. 

“You know your friend better than I ever would…” Hecate said slowly, “and I do not really know what to… do or say, even… I do believe you should…” She trailed off, looking a bit helpless. 

With all the experience of teaching she had, she was still not very good at dealing with social situations herself. She never had more than one friend or two, now that she had Ada and apparently Miss Drill had taken to her as well, but she just did not know how to deal with situations like the one Mildred was in right now. 

“I think it best if you were to talk to Pippa about this, Mildred,” she said quietly, apologetically. 

Mildred stopped and looked at her. 

“I mean… I was planning on that, anyways, but… I trust you and you’re smart and sometimes just… seem to know the right thing to say, so I wanted to talk to you about it, as well,” she said and ended it with a small shrug. 

“And you can, of course. I am here for whatever you need, Mildred,” Hecate assured her, even though internally she was very much insecure about the help she could provide. “How about we talk about it over the weekend, together? About Miss Hallow, too, whether she dares to provoke you any further or not, I believe Pippa will have some insight in how to deal with… people like Ethel,” she said, her voice becoming rather stilted at the end again. 

Pippa definitely would have more experience in _standing up to bullies_ than Hecate did. Hecate always had tried her best to ignore these people, had let them torment her, whereas Pippa, her precious Pipsqueak, always stood up to them, for her. It hadn’t made Hecate’s situation back then any worse or any better, but of course it had changed the tone of the torment. 

The dark haired witch realised that with both their insights, Mildred might actually be able to find a way to deal with Ethel Hallow. She would speak to Pippa about it, before all three of them would talk about the situation. It would make the weekend a bit easier on Mildred, if Pippa knew about most of it already. At least, she hoped so. 

Mildred had thought about Hecate’s suggestion while pacing in front of her.  
“That sounds good… I don’t… I don’t mean to ruin our weekend together, though. I want you to enjoy your time with Pippa and us to enjoy our time together, too…” Mildred haltingly said and then trailed off, wringing her hands together in something akin to discomfort. 

Hecate realised it for what it was, though; the girl not wanting to be a burden. She lithely stood up and was in less than a second right in front of Mildred, the girl not sure if she transferred or walked. She grasped the younger witch’s hands gently.

“Mildred, I might not be very adept with social situations and cues, but I do know that this is important to you. And it is- And you need to talk about it. That is important. There is nothing more... important to me, you hear me? There is _nothing_ more important than you... and your... wellbeing. So, we will talk about it. Right on Saturday, if you want…” The look on her face was gentle, but her eyes were slightly widened, trying to bring her point across.

The point being that Mildred was not a burden to her and that there was nothing more important to Hecate, even though it brought her discomfort, than to make sure Mildred was emotionally - as well as physically, of course - unharmed. And that meant, talking about the conflict she had with one of her best friends to help her find a solution, as well as giving her insight on how to deal with a bully such as Ethel Hallow.

And, Hecate realised, Miss Hallow was just that. A bully. Someone that would have taken just as much pleasure in tormenting her if she was her age. A resolve formed within her, no longer afraid of what Mrs Hallow might say to the School Board or what she might do. She would be much less lenient and a lot more stricter with Ethel, and a lot more careful with Sybil. The youngest Hallow girl reminded her a lot of Mildred, in some ways. She was not picking favourites, she reminded her own conscience, no. She was just being fairer by strengthening the weak and keeping the strong in check. 

Mildred, unaware of the inner thoughts of her adoptive mother, experienced her own inner turmoil at Hecate’s words.  
She realised what Hecate had said between the lines, but sometimes, like right now, she had trouble believing it. She knew it was true, knew that Hecate did not see her as a burden, deep down in her heart Mildred was more than aware of that. But the doubts in her mind, created by guilt and the feeling of worthlessness that the past few years of being told by so many different people that she was _the worst witch_ had created, were hard to overcome on some days.   
Hecate herself had said the words, had said a lot of other words that had made her feel stupid and unworthy to be taught at Cackle’s, to be taught at _any_ Witching Academy. 

The actions and words of the witch in front of her over the past year had more than made up for it, though, and she could safely say that she had forgiven her for it. Even so, the wounds were still healing. And it had not just been Miss Hardbroom, back then. It was not just Ethel Hallow. It had been her whole form, except for Maud and Enid.   
It had been most of her teachers as well, even though they never used words as such - other than Miss Hardbroom, of course. But the looks and the way they had treated her for the longest time had said it all to Mildred.

Sure, Mildred was very much aware that she had messed up a lot but thinking about it had made her realise that it hadn’t really been her fault, had it? It hadn’t been her fault that she had grown up in the Ordinary world, that her mum, Julie, didn’t know anything about magic or the Witches’ Code.   
It hadn’t been her fault that she had no prior knowledge of potion brewing, chanting or spell science like everyone else in her form. And it wasn’t her fault that none of her teachers and classmates, besides Maud and Enid, were willing to teach her about the very basics, that every witch would’ve learned at home. Well. Except for Hecate and Pippa now. 

Hecate at least had apologised - not so much in actual words but through her behaviour and actions - and long made up for it, even though she was sure she still felt guilty for it as well.   
The two of them really had a lot more in common than Mildred - and Hecate - ever could have imagined. And Hecate was trying very hard to make up for her past oversight through teaching Mildred all about basic potion ingredients such as herbs and other things, as well as the Witches’ Code.

Mildred looked down at their hands, still clasped together, and a small smile spread over her face before she wriggled her hands free and surged forward. Her arms came around Hecate’s form and as soon as her ear was pressed against where she could hear the other witch’s heartbeat, she let out a deep sigh. Almost automatically by now, Hecate’s arms came around Mildred’s shoulders to hold her close, not even stiffening at the sudden contact anymore.

“Love you, mum,” Mildred whispered very very quietly, only saying it directly to her for the second time since they had grown closer. 

It was whispered so quietly, in fact, that Hecate almost missed it. _Almost_.   
At the words that she had always longed to hear from a child, her own child, although she would never admit it, tears were gathering in her eyes that she tried her hardest to hold back.

But Mildred _was_ her own, now. Maybe not by blood, but just as much her own as if she had given birth to her herself. That was when her heart skipped a beat or two and the tears started to fall, after all. The warmth blossoming in her chest did not feel entirely like her own, but rather a mix of hers and Mildred’s feelings.

She was not used to saying the words as such, had only a few weeks ago brought up the courage to say them out loud to Pippa and had only once told Mildred before on that one fateful afternoon, right before filling out the paperwork for the adoption process.

If she was thinking back, she was sure she had never said the word “love” to a person beside her mother before - and her mother had died when she was still at a young age. And Hecate had never had the courage to say it to Pippa when they were still teens. 

So, besides saying it to Pippa, and just a day later to Mildred, for the first time just a few weeks ago, she had not used the word, not _felt_ like she had anyone that she actually could say it to. No one but Pippa and Mildred. 

“I… I love you, too, Mildred H-Hardbroom…” her voice cracked and it was barely above a whisper, just as quiet as Mildred’s had been. 

Mildred held on tighter at the mention of her last name, squeezing her arms around Hecate’s body. It was still new to her, especially since it wasn’t used very often in her day to day life, but it felt right. 

They stood like this for quite a few minutes. Mildred didn’t want to let go just yet, relishing in the comfort the embrace brought her. And Hecate was still trying to get her racing thoughts and feelings back under control. 

But then suddenly, there was a knock at the door of their living chambers and it broke them apart.

Hecate, carefully schooling her features into a neutral mask and drying her face with a wave of her hand, stepped out of Mildred’s room just as she flicked her wrist to open the door and let their guest in.

“Ada,” she greeted in her usual clipped tone of voice and inclined her head in invitation. 

“Hecate,” Miss Cackle said and then waited until the door was closed and they were sitting in the chairs by Hecate’s fireplace before she continued. “I thought it best to talk to you about this right away. I apologise for not giving you any kind of notice about it.”

“Do not worry. What is the matter?” Hecate raised her eyebrows, already having a suspicion what this was going to be about.

“Miss Hallow seems to be of the impression that Mildred is ‘up to something’ - her words - as she came to speak to me just a few minutes ago, very alarmed and, in my own assessment, also very furious.”

“If this is about Mildred, maybe she should be in here with us,” Hecate suggested and snapped her fingers. 

The door to Mildred’s room opened with a bang and quiet “ouch!” - Mildred had been standing right behind it. Hecate smirked.   
“Eavesdropping is very unbecoming in a witch, Mildred Hardbroom,” she admonished quietly, not aware of using Mildred’s last name until after she said it. Her eyes widened. She would need to be careful not to let that slip out in front of other students. Thankfully it was just Ada with them, at the moment. 

There was a gentle smile on Ada’s face. “Join us, please, Mildred, if you would.” She conjured another chair for Mildred to sit on and waved her over. 

Mildred was rubbing her forehead with a grumble, but was walking over to the other two witches without hesitation. As soon as she sat down, Hecate leaned over, pulled her hand away to inspect her forehead, but when she saw there was no major damage to it, she let go of Mildred’s hand and leaned back in her own seat again. There was still a smirk on her face, the younger witch noticed.

“So, Mildred. Will you tell me what happened with Miss Hallow in the library earlier? She was quite upset,” Miss Cackle asked her student.

Again, Mildred recounted the events from just a little while ago. She kept looking over to Hecate for reassurance every once in a while and noticed a glint in her mum’s eyes. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but there still was a very slight smirk on her face. 

“Hmm… And are you up to something, Mildred?” Miss Cackle asked once she was finished. There was a mischievous twinkle in the headmistress’ eyes.

Mildred laughed. “Other than trying to get even better in school so I’m not the worst witch anymore? Absolutely nothing,” she said with utter honesty.

“We all knew that,” Hecate said quietly.

“I know,” Ada inclined her head, “but I had to ask, you know that, Hecate, Mildred. Now. How are you planning on handling Ethel if she confronts you again?”

“Much the same way as today. Because no matter what I’ll do, she’ll think I’m up to _something_ and it will aggravate her. I plan to talk to Pippa and Hecate some more about the situation over the weekend, though,” Mildred replied. “I promised Hecate I would not break the Witches’ Code, no matter what Ethel does or says, and I intend to keep that promise.”

Ada nodded thoughtfully. “Very good, Mildred. I do think this is something Ethel will have to overcome by herself, mostly. But we will help her along, if she lets us, of course.”

“And by _we_ , you mean us teachers,” Hecate guessed. 

“Of course, Hecate, dear. This is not something a young child should be burdened with.”

Hecate raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. They had all left Mildred to deal with Ethel by herself in the past, had burdened her with it, had let her be bullied by a fellow witch. And simply because they all had misconceptions or misgivings of various reasons. Ethel’s family connections, Mildred’s mysterious magical abilities and lack of knowledge about all things magic… Every teacher had had their own reasons, as twisted or wrong as they had been.

Fact was, Mildred had had the burden of dealing with Ethel Hallow all by herself for the past three years and if something had happened, they had most often not really bothered to truly figure out the truth. Telling Ada that would not do any good right now, though. Not while Mildred was present. But Hecate swore to herself to keep an eye on all her girls from now on, and if there was any misbehaviour of that kind, she would step in. She would. 

Mildred almost snorted at Miss Cackle’s words, but saw the look on Hecate’s face and just _knew_ that the deputy would talk to the headmistress about this later, in private. There would be no more injustice in that regard. She had Hecate on her side now, and Pippa. With them, Mildred felt stronger. 

“Of course,” Hecate finally said, tone clipped and measured, “the staff will figure something out.”

“If I may suggest something, though?” Mildred interjected, remembering something from her old school. She waited until she had the attention from both witches before she continued.

“In the Ordinary world, there are programs that schools can participate in that teach kids not to bully and how to treat others properly. Since it’s a program for Ordinary schools it’s not really going to work here. Plus, we have the Code and everything, but maybe, if we can get our hands on details of such a program and then just modify and adapt it to a magical school…” she trailed off, unsure if she should continue at the looks on her teachers’ faces.

“Mildred, you are utterly brilliant,” Hecate said, sounding almost breathless. There was a definite glistening in her eyes now. Mildred smiled bashfully.

“Oh, Mildred, that sounds like a wonderful idea! I wonder how we could find such a program,” Ada wondered.

“I’m sure there’s things on the internet,” Mildred shrugged.

“What is… the internet?” Hecate asked, her voice holding a touch of disdain as she was sure it had to do with the Ordinary world. 

Mildred sighed and then tried to explain it as best as she could. She was wondering, however, how they would get access to a computer or the World Wide Web, since she was sure there was no connection up here at Cackle’s. Maybe Pippa could help them figure something out in that regard and she said as much. 

“I will ask her later, we have a mirror call planned,” Hecate said absentmindedly, no doubt already thinking about - and getting distracted by the prospect of - talking to her partner. 

At that, Ada smiled at Mildred in a secretive way. The younger witch wasn’t sure what to make of it, but let it go for now. She’d talk to Hecate about that look at some point, when they were alone again. 

It was then, that they all heard the dinner bell ring. 

“Oh, dear! I didn’t realise how much time had passed,” Ada exclaimed. “We better get down to dinner!” 

Hecate nodded. 

“Maybe it is better for you to walk, Mildred. You will not get in trouble for arriving… late,” she raised an eyebrow at her daughter and then looked at Ada. They both raised their hands and vanished. 

Mildred sighed. Of course she wasn’t allowed to transfer this time. It made sense, of course, but _transferring_ would be so much quicker. She gave another small sigh and got up. As soon as she did, the chair vanished and she chuckled. Trust in Hecate to keep their space tidy. 

Dinner would certainly be an interesting affair, she was sure.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Long time no see. Life has been rather... complicated and not easy lately. All my energy went into trying to stay upright. I am so so sorry it took me so long to upload this. Thank you to all of you who have commented and keep commenting!!! Reading your comments means a lot to me :)   
> Fair warning, this time the chapter is not beta read, so all the mistakes are mine. I tried to catch all the grammar mistakes and typos. I hope I did. I also hope this is still in character enough of all of them. I didn't want to bother and annoy anyone with beta reading after such a long absence.  
> I can't promise the next update will happen any time soon. The chapters will come whenever I have the energy and time to write, but I try to keep it up as much as I can.   
> I do hope you will still be reading and enjoying this story, especially this chapter now! :)

Dinner was indeed interesting. Mildred sat beside Maud, with Enid on Maud’s other side, as had now become their new custom. It still saddened Mildred but there wasn’t a lot she could do about it at the moment. She was still hoping Enid would come around soon. 

She could feel Ethel looking at her several times, but only once looked in her direction. The facial expression scared her a little. There was a wicked gleam in her eyes and she was smirking in a rather unsettling way.

Mildred shook it off and turned back towards her food.   
She also knew that Hecate kept an eye on her. It was a completely different feeling, though. Not creepy, but more a feeling of safety. 

She tried to ignore all of it and asked Maud about their homework for spell science. As they were talking rather animatedly now, about the topics they were each covering in their essays, she almost missed Ethel getting up and walking towards her. She saw the movement in the last second, and quickly stood up. 

Ethel, who had been walking by behind her, had carried a steaming mug of _something_ and, most certainly pretended, to stumble.   
Where Mildred had just been sitting, a steaming (and definitely even bubbling, indicating the fluid was not just hot but boiling) liquid was now covering the seat on the bench. 

Mildred just stared at her, waiting for the sneering remarks or some sort of reaction. 

“Oh I am terribly sorry! How fortunate that your reflexes seem so well developed, Mildred,” Ethel did indeed sneer at her in anger. Anger at the fact that Mildred had managed to save herself from some serious burns, apparently.

At that moment Miss Hardbroom materialised right beside Ethel. 

“What is going on here?” she questioned, drawing out syllables. 

“I… uh” Ethel seemed at a loss for words all of a sudden. 

Probably because she was scared of Hecate, Mildred guessed. The look on their teacher’s face _was_ a bit scary, but she knew why. 

“She stumbled and her tea spilled, but thankfully I saw it in time and managed to escape... the tea,” Mildred supplied helpfully, smiling cheerfully. 

Miss Hardbroom looked at her, nodded and while still looking at her said:

“Clean this up, Ethel Hallow. And see me after dinner for 100 lines of ‘I shall watch where I am going while carrying dangerous goods’.” 

A rather overly dramatic curl of her hand later and the teacher was gone from the room. 

“This is your fault, Mildred!” Ethel was positively seething now. 

“My fault? How?” Mildred asked, puzzled. 

“You… you must! It must be. I’m never in detention. _You_ are the worst witch! You must be chea-“ 

“Oi, Hallow,” Enid’s voice spoke up. 

Mildred looked over in surprise, just as surprised as Ethel seemed to be. 

“If you stumble and spill your tea, that’s on you - if that even was tea. Mildred has never been a bad witch, she just comes from a different background. And that’s not her fault. Get over yourself,” Enid rolled her eyes, picked up the rest of her dinner and walked off. 

Mildred smiled to herself, watching Enid walk away. Maybe they had a greater chance at mending their friendship than she thought. 

Ethel was rooted to the spot, gapingly staring after Enid, but then her expression turned sour. 

“I don’t know how you do it, Mildred, but you seem to bewitch everyone. Well. Whatever you’re doing, I will find out, and it will never work on me. _Never!_ ” She said and stormed off, tea mug still in hand - and of course she hadn’t cleaned up. 

Mildred turned to Maud. 

“I’m… bewitching everyone, then?” She asked, sounding more than amused. 

Maud, who had been shell shocked, was carefully looking at her friend but when Mildred started laughing, she was laughing along. 

Enid suddenly reappeared in front of them, a forlorn look on her face, holding a tea towel that Miss Tapioca must’ve given her.   
Mildred took it from her hands and dabbed at the liquid. 

“Can we talk, Millie?” Enid didn’t look at her but was looking at the floor instead. “Not here, though…” 

Mildred smiled carefully and nodded. They had caused enough of a scene at dinner.

“Let’s go to my room,” she agreed. “As soon as this is sorted.”

Since Hecate was letting Ethel write lines, their chambers would be empty for however long it took the blonde to write 100 lines, so they wouldn’t be disturbed.

* * *

As they walked towards Mildred’s room, they all stayed quiet. Maud at first hadn’t been sure if Enid wanted her there, too, but when she had wordlessly grabbed her arm and dragged her along, she resigned herself to the fact that she’d have to intervene, if necessary. She just didn’t want to have to pick a side, didn’t want to have to choose between them. 

Once the door was closed behind them, Mildred sat down on her bed. Maud sat down on the floor, in front of the bed, cross legged but adjacent to Mildred.   
Enid stood in front of them, seemingly insecure. A look Mildred rarely saw on her friend’s features. 

She cleared her throat. “Well, you wanted to talk?” Her voice was gentle and quiet. 

Enid nodded. 

“I… wanted to apologise…” she started and finally looked at Mildred. “I behaved like a swamp troll and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said.”

It was quiet for a few seconds, then Mildred giggled. 

“You _were_ behaving like a swamp troll. But it’s okay, Enid. I had all this time by myself to get used to my new mind set. I shut you out, both of you, really. And I’m sorry about that.” She looked from Enid to Maud and then back to Enid. 

“Yeah… you did, kinda,” Enid said but smiled carefully. “I’d like to get to know who you are now, Millie. Can we be friends again?” 

There was a shy smile on Mildred’s face, too, now.   
“Oh, Enid,” she whispered and got up to step towards her friend, “I never stopped being your friend. It was just… a rough patch.” 

Enid, a grateful and bright smile on her face now, hugged Mildred tightly. 

Mildred gestured for Maud to get up and join them, and the girl did so, instantly. 

“My best friends…” Mildred mumbled into their arms. 

Later, when her friends finally had left after a lot of talking and laughing, Mildred was sitting in their living room by herself, doing homework. Hecate wasn’t back yet and while Mildred figured that detention for Ethel Hallow would take a while since the girl wasn’t used to it, she was starting to get worried. It had been over an hour, by now, and even Ethel wouldn’t take this long to write 100 lines, she was sure. 

She sighed and tried to concentrate on her essay again, outlining and arranging her arguments and counter arguments in her notes.   
She sat down on the floor then and reached for her quill and the parchment she had brought in here with her and started writing.

* * *

Hecate Hardbroom was tired.   
Today had been just another usual Thursday, until Mildred had had her encounter with Ethel in the library. After that, it had turned busy, turbulent and rather emotional for her, really.   
Mildred and her had talked, had said _those words_ again, and then Ada had shown up.   
Dinner time had followed, and she had kept a close eye on the fourth years, especially Mildred and Ethel, of course.   
Just as that was almost over without incident, she had watched as Ethel made her way towards Mildred, holding a full cup of steaming liquid. She noticed her whispering something and then looked on as she stumbled, seemingly over air.   
Thankfully Mildred must have noticed her as well, as she stood up quickly, avoiding the now bubbling liquid, spilling all over the bench instead of Mildred’s back.   
Hecate had transferred there instantly. It could have seriously injured her Mildred. She was internally seething. 

Behaviour like this went against the Code and she could not stand it. But of course she had no evidence proving Ethel had done it on purpose, that she had indeed broken the Code.   
She sighed. So her punishment had been 100 lines of some drivel that she just _knew_ Miss Hallow would not keep in mind. But she had had no other choice.   
Ethel Hallow was a very clever girl, just like her mother. And, Hecate realised with a start, just as much of a bully. 

Now she was just waiting for Ethel to finish her lines so she could get back to her quarters and talk to Mildred and Pippa. And once Mildred was in bed, to Pippa alone.   
Transferring herself over to where Ethel was sitting, and looming over her shoulder to check if she was doing it correctly, she felt anger bubbling up inside of her. 

“If you are not taking this seriously, Miss Hallow, we can arrange for detention every night until further notice,” she hissed menacingly, rolling the r’s in the back of her throat and leaving meaningful long pauses between her carefully chosen words. 

Ethel jumped in surprise and then flinched. She knew she should’ve just done what she had been told but there was so much anger inside of her. She felt it consume her, almost, and remembered the last time that had happened. 

“Do you want to turn into... a swamp troll again, Miss… Hallow?” Hecate continued, as if she knew where Ethel’s thoughts were going. 

“No, Miss Hardbroom. Sorry, Miss Hardbroom,” she whispered, but knew that her teacher most likely could tell that she didn’t really mean it. Because she didn’t. 

She was more than just upset and angry. She was raging on the inside.   
How in Merlin’s name had Mildred Hubble managed to get her marks higher? How did she get better at potions and chanting and in spell science? How was she suddenly everyone’s favourite - especially _Miss Hardbroom’s_? 

“I. Do not. Have. Favourites,” Hecate hissed. 

Ethel looked up at her, wide eyed. “Did… I say that out loud?” 

Hecate raised her eyebrows at her in a way that said, “obviously”.   
The young witch blushed furiously in embarrassment.

“I didn’t mean-”

“Quiet. Do you think I am a fool? Of course you meant it. Mildred Ha-” she caught herself and cleared her throat, thankful that the first syllable of their last names sounded similar enough, “Mildred has, since her mother… died, been receiving the help she needed to catch up to her peers’ level of knowledge. She is not anyone’s favourite, she has just got the opportunity to even the field, so she is no longer at a disadvantage. How is that _unfair_ , Miss Hallow?”   
Her face clearly showed the disdain she felt at this moment for her pupil. 

Of course was she aware that Ethel Hallow was just the product of her parents and the upbringing that came with them, but her ambitious and jealous personality was her own and did not help her in this case.   
Her behaviour might not be directly breaking any sections of the Code, yet, but if she kept it up, one day it might become irrevocably so. She dreaded for it to happen.  
As much as she disliked Ursula Hallow, Esmeralda had turned out well - until she fell for Agatha’s tricks. And Sybil, the youngest, just needed some self confidence. But Ethel? Ethel needed a healthy dose of structure, rules and motherly love and a lot less competitiveness.   
Hecate was sure, however, that motherly love from Ursula Hallow was not something any of the Hallow girls truly received, and if they did, it certainly wasn’t the kind they needed. 

Ethel seemed to actually think about what her teacher had said for a second. 

“I just can’t not be top of the class, Miss Hardbroom. I need to be better. Need to be _the best_ \- or I won’t ever receive my parents’ approval,” she whispered the last part. 

It all came down to this, Hecate thought. Approval and love, and not receiving it. She pursed her lips. The approval Ethel truly needed, she most likely would never get from her parents, but Hecate knew that was something she’d have to figure out on her own.   
Hecate was sure it would take her the better half of her adult life. It did for most people, in her experience. It did for her, herself. She could not exactly tell the young girl that either, though, now could she?

Instead she said, “Think about the way you were trying to go about that, for the past few weeks. Your… little _games_ were frivolous and they reek of jealousy. They have drawn all your attention away from your studies and brought you to detention. This… superficiality and jealousy is _very_ unbecoming in a witch, Miss Hallow.” She narrowed her eyes at the young blonde girl, hoping, _praying_ to any goddess out there, that Ethel would take the right meaning from them. 

She rather wished she could have said a lot more, as the girl’s behaviour had not just been this atrocious the past few weeks, but she was still a teacher and this was still just a child in front of her.   
To be fair, Ethel had left Mildred alone most of last year - after she had lost her… birth mother, Julie. 

Hecate still had to navigate her way through the emotions attached to being “a mother”, all of a sudden, even though it felt nothing but right after almost a full year of taking care of Mildred. Both of them had got attached to the other in a way she never thought possible.

Ethel looked thoughtful now. 

“Finish your lines, this time, Miss Hallow. I do not intend to spend all night here with you.” She raised her eyebrows and with a last look at the girl, transferred back to her desk and sat down. “Despite various rumours, I do sleep,” she said, letting the p at then end of sleep pop.

Instead of easing the mood and coaxing Ethel into a smile or chuckle, it just made her look even more frightened of her and Hecate sighed inaudibly. Mildred would have been in a fit of giggles right about now. But then again, Mildred was different, and _knew_ her in different ways now. 

She watched as Ethel frantically started writing and hoped she might be done soon. Pippa would surely already be waiting for her.

* * *

By the time she made it back to her living chambers, it was later than she had first anticipated. Ethel had written slower than she had expected but there was nothing she could do about it now.   
It was a little after 8:30. 

She transferred herself right into her living room and instantly had to smile.   
There Mildred was sitting on the floor in front of their low coffee table, writing on a piece of parchment. Homework for spell science, she suspected, since that had been the last essay she had been working on.   
What made her smile though was Pippa’s face in the small mirror that was sitting propped against a stack of books on the table in front of Mildred. 

“...seems rather fortunate, Mildred - oh, Hiccup! There you are! Good to see you, darling.” 

Hecate’s smile brightened and she kneeled down beside Mildred.   
The young witch looked over to her, a careful, almost questioning, smile on her face.   
The dark haired witch reached out with her hand and squeezed Mildred’s shoulder affectionately, trying to reassure her that everything was okay. 

“Good evening, Pippa. I see you two have already started talking?” Hecate turned her head and looked at Pippa fully now. 

“Yes, actually. Mildred has updated me on the situation with Ethel and Enid,” the blonde said and smiled brightly. 

“Enid?” Hecate raised an eyebrow and looked at Mildred. 

“Yeah, she wanted to talk to me after dinner earlier. We made up and she wants to be friends again,” Mildred said with twinkling eyes. 

Hecate felt relieved. She had not been aware of any tension other than Mildred’s own, but apparently she had felt a certain kind of anxiety over their situation, as well. 

“So you were right to give you both some space,” Hecate remarked. “I am very happy for you, Mildred.” 

Mildred’s face lit up. She wanted to give her adoptive mother a hug or feel at least closer to her in some way, but refrained for now. She clenched her hands in an attempt to stifle the urge. 

“And about Ethel… well. I tried to talk to her during her detention. I do not know how successful it was. She seems rather caught up in her emotions. I was right about her, though. All she wants is the approval of her parents and if you turn out better than her, she will not receive what she thinks is what she wants from her parents,” Hecate carefully stated, looking back and forth between Pippa and Mildred. 

“But what she wants is love and to be seen, right?” Mildred asked. 

“Yes, but the Hallow’s are not a very loving bunch, are they? I remember Ursula from our school days. I barely knew her, but she seemed very competitive. I think her mother wasn’t very loving either,” Pippa chimed in. 

“Well, I remember her very clearly,” Hecate said quietly. “She was - is - a cruel woman. I think I shall keep an eye out for poor Sybil. More than I have. I am afraid I have not been a very good teacher in some aspects…” 

“Oh, hush, Hiccup. You had a lot going on and a lot on your mind. You’re there now. That’s what counts. Right Mildred?” Pippa winked at the young witch that seemed to stare at Hecate lost in thought. 

“Yes, Pippa is right. You’re here now, willing to help. And it wasn’t like you hadn’t looked out for any of us before - because you have. Maybe you weren’t aware of it, but you have been there. In your own way,” Mildred said and finally did reach out with one of her hands, grasping Hecate’s lightly with her own. 

“I- well.” There was a very light blush settling on Hecate’s face. “It was not enough. But I promise you, Mildred, I will do right by you.” 

“I know, mum. I know you will,” she smiled brightly at her and gave her hand a squeeze before letting go again. 

“So you gave Ethel detention? How did that go?” Pippa inquired. 

“She was rather stubborn at first. She did not do what I told her to do. But then we had… a rather insightful talk. Let us just hope it was actually fruitful,” Hecate told them and then relayed a few more details of the talk she had had with Ethel Hallow. 

“She is a bright young girl,” Pippa replied, “I’m sure she will think about what you said. And maybe her anger dissipates and she actually does stop with her ‘games’, as you called them.” 

Mildred nodded along, a thoughtful expression on her face.   
“I wish her mum was a better person…” she whispered. 

From Hecate’s words and tone of voice she suspected that Ursula Hallow had been just as mean to either Hecate herself or others during their time in school. Not to Pippa, apparently. Mildred could read between the lines of both of them rather well by now.   
She carefully glanced at Hecate for a few seconds. 

“I think that’s what we all wish for, don’t we? Loving parents?” Pippa asked in a gentle tone of voice. 

Looking back and forth between the adults, Mildred felt a bit lost at first, but then it clicked. Hecate’s childhood couldn’t have been easy at all.   
From the little bits and pieces the witch had told her about herself and between all the little moments during the last year, Mildred could only guess. And what she guessed, wasn’t pretty.   
She shuffled closer towards her adoptive mother, letting their thighs touch and leaning slightly into her. 

“Well. I for one have the best parents ever!” Mildred declares in a cheerful voice. “Between my birth mother and my adoptive parents, I’m pretty lucky and I feel very loved.”

Hecate sucked in a breath and Pippa’s eyes widened.   
_Adoptive parents_ , Mildred had said. _Parents_ , as in plural. 

“Your… parents?” Pippa barely brought out the question. 

Hecate was too stunned to speak. Her mind and heart were racing.   
Of course, Mildred had already told them she thought of the three of them as family. That was why Pippa was also present in the family portrait that adorned her wall now. But hearing her stating the _obvious_ , and with such certainty, was different. 

“I mean, you two are basically married, so that makes you the other mum in our family, right?” Mildred asked innocently. 

Hecate stiffened. She and Pippa had not yet talked about the possibility of marriage, but she herself was sure that there was no one she would rather spend the rest of her life with.   
And she knew Pippa felt similarly, had said so in a rather passionate speech during one late night talk. Hecate had felt rather insecure that night, but Pippa had been there to catch her before she could spiral. 

Now she was fighting the urge to disappear into her bedroom to try and process the words and emotions that came with them. But she did not want to leave Pippa and Mildred to themselves. Not this time. 

“Not to say that you need to get married or anything,” Mildred hastily added when no one said anything. “But of course you can if you’d want to! Whichever. I just meant to say that I’m glad that I have both of you in my life now… and the memories of my birth mum.” 

Mildred’s facial expression started to slip into a sad one, but it was only Pippa that noticed. 

“And you will always have us - and your memories. We all love you,” the blonde tried to reassure her, wishing she could reach out through the mirror to give the girl a hug. 

The words shook Hecate out of her thoughts. Her heart was still racing but the meaning of Pippa’s words sank in and she felt compelled to look at Mildred. 

Noticing the sad expression, she tentatively reached one arm around the young witch’s shoulders and left it there.   
Mildred’s head slowly sank towards her shoulder until it finally came to rest there. Hecate squeezed the shoulder underneath her hand reassuringly. 

“I agree. With what Pippa has said,” she simply said. 

There was a very quiet sniffling sound coming from her shoulder. Her heart was beating fast and painfully in her chest at the thought that Mildred was crying, or about to cry as she could guess why. 

“Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve any of this,” Mildred whispered, tears evident even in the quiet murmur. 

The blonde witch gasped.   
“Oh, honey, but you do. You deserve all the love,” she said quickly. 

Hecate did the only thing she could think of doing.   
Since she could not find any words, at least not right this second, she instead pulled Mildred closer and hugged her fully, and tightly. As much as that was possible in the cramped space between the sofa and the coffee table, while sitting on the floor. 

Watching the two of them, Pippa wished she could be there with them so badly in this moment and promised herself to try and get away earlier tomorrow, as soon as she possibly could. All she wanted was to give the two witches on the other side of her mirror a tight hug and all the kisses to show them both how much they were loved. 

Hecate looked over Mildred’s head towards Pippa, saw her thoughts clearly written on her face.   
_Tomorrow_ , her eyes said.

Pippa nodded, tears in her eyes, but managed to hold them back. 

Hecate whispered something to Mildred that Pippa couldn’t hear, but the girl nodded and wiped her eyes.   
She looked up and right at Pippa. 

“Love you, Pippa,” she murmured, “good night.” 

“Good night, sweetie. I’ll see you soon, okay?” Pippa tried to sound as cheerful as she could manage with tears still threatening to fall. 

Mildred nodded and then looked at Hecate again. 

“Will you come and say goodnight in ten minutes?” 

There was something so fragile and young-sounding in her voice, that Hecate could not say no. She would have done so anyway, needing for her own peace of mind to still check on her young charge. 

“Of course, Mildred. Now go. I will be there in ten minutes,” she agreed. 

Then she pressed a quick kiss to Mildred’s forehead, before ushering her off toward her bedroom. 

She grabbed the mirror and got up herself to walk to her own room.   
Pippa remained quiet until the door was closed. 

“You’re worried about her,” she observed. 

Hecate looked at her thoughtfully.   
“I… suppose I am. She still feels so guilty and undeserving of good things because of what she did,” she said quietly. 

“Do you still feel guilty about what happened with your friend, Indigo? And do you feel like you deserve good things, and to be loved?” Pippa asked just as quietly. 

“I am in the process of accepting these things. It is not… easy for me,” she admitted. 

“I doubt it’s easy for Mildred. All we can do is try to be there for her, to remind her that she does deserve good things in her life and that it’s okay to love parental figures in her life beyond her birth mother. Telling her once won’t be enough, though, so we need to be patient, too. We are patient with you, too, Hiccup, because we love you. So let’s just try and be patient with each other. Give each of us time to adjust. And I’ll tell you every day for the rest of our lives, if need be, that I love you and that you deserve to be loved and to love,” Pippa passionately but still quietly tried to bring her point across. 

Hecate nodded. 

“You are correct. Telling her once will not automatically make her believe it, it did not work that way for me either,” she acquiesced quietly. 

Pippa’s eyes fell on Hecate’s hands that were nervously playing with her pocket watch that was ever present on the dark haired witch.   
She knew of the significance of it now, knew it had been her mother’s - was all that she had left of her, since her father had burned everything else.   
Holding it, touching it, gave Hecate a sense of security, she surmised. Especially when she was nervous or contemplative.   
She had often watched her since they had reconnected. Over mirror calls at first and then in person every once in a while, until this summer. And she was aware it was as much a habit for her to reach for the watch, as it was a reassurance. 

“I believe you have a daughter to tell goodnight to,” Pippa said with a smile. 

Hecate was brought out of her thoughts and she dropped her watch to let it settle back against her dress. 

“Will you still be here when I get back?” She asked, wide eyed. 

“Of course, Hiccup. I’ll wait for you right here. Maybe get settled in bed while you’re busy, but I’ll take my mirror with me, alright?” 

Hecate nodded and then touched her lips with three of her fingers before touching the mirror, right above Pippa’s.   
Pippa smiled and did the same, before Hecate got up and left the room to tell Mildred goodnight.


End file.
